Calculate your Carbon Footprint

I find it fun to complete online surveys and quizzes so here is a little tool I found that made me more aware of my impact on the Earth on a day-to-day basis as well as on a broader scale: http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/. For example, I should work harder to turn off lights when they are not needed, use cold water when doing laundry, compost my food and unplug any appliances when not in use. A big impact of mine that raised my greenhouse gas emissions significantly was transportation (about half of my emissions). Although I do not own a car and rarely even ride in other people’s cars while at Oxy, I travel across the country to come to school here. I make multiple long flights during the year to attend Oxy and for my own personal travel.

Overall, I was disappointed with my results because I like to think that I care to do my part and be green. It was interesting to see my estimated emissions compared to the average American and compared to the world average individual. As expected I was in the middle with a score of 20 and the U.S. average at 27. I would expect the world average to be lower but was surprised at how much lower it was at only 5.5!

I encourage you to take the quiz and assess your carbon footprint. I challenge you to decrease your footprint and set goals of how you can go about doing so. What can we all do more or less of to lower our CO2 emissions and help the environment?

The first step to maker the world a greener place is to start with yourself and change your habits. Then you can set an example for others and encourage them to do the same. I plan to start a compost box in my house and persuade all my housemates to compost their food scraps.

Tweeting Your Way to Local and Organic Food in LA

With the absurd amount of taco trucks, Los Angeles has created its own mobile food industry. Offering cheap food almost anywhere, taco trucks have served our late night munchies well. Recently, with customers following the Koji Korean BBQ truck like groupies on twitter crack, a new market of alternative mobile food is being created. Along with this increase in alternative taco trucks, there has also been the introduction of sustainable mobile food providers through out the greater Los Angeles area. These eateries are making me wonder, should we tweet to our next free range beef burrito?

Let’s take a look at the sustainable food trucks showing up around LA:


Let’s Be Frank: It’s goal: to change the world one hot dog at a time. It’s method: Selling only locally raised grass fed beef hot dogs and sausages. Follow Let’s Be Frank on twitter @letsbefrank

Green Truck on the Go: Serves organic/local food, uses compostable to go plates/cups/utensils and uses vegetable oil as fuel. These Green trucks have been showing up in New York and Los Angeles. Follow Green Truck at @green truck

Border Grill: Brought to you by the founders of Sustainable eatery Border Grill and Ciudad, this taco truck serves sustainable Mexican cuisine. follow them on the twitter @bordergrill.

Cool Haus: Can’t hear the music of the ice cream truck? Look no farther! Cool Haus offers handmade ice cream sandwiches with locally and organically sourced ingredients. Follow Cool Haus @COOLHAUS

Sprinkles Mobile: Your favorite cupcake is on the go and green friendly! The mobile truck offers Sprinkles’ famous cupcakes with packaging and wrappers made from recyclable material and donates leftovers to food banks each day. twitter @ http://twitter.com/sprinklesmobile.

Divine Nourishment: Committed to minimizing use of plastic bags and prepackaged foods, using all organic ingredients, buying local produce and using biodiesel to fuel the vehicles, this truck provides tasty and sustainable food on the go. twitter @organicgoodness

Are these trucks truly sustainable as they drive around Los Angeles selling to an upper class taco truck customer? Some use bio fuel while others simply commit to reducing waste, but all of these trucks are spreading the word about the importance of sustainable food practices and representing the growing demand for healthy food choices in Los Angeles. Though these gourmet trucks may in the future compete with current taco trucks for customers, it seems more likely that a new market of mobile food is about to develop with the inclusion of sustainable eateries. Will we see Leo’s offer a free range chicken quesadilla in the future? Only time will tell. Until then, tweet your heart out and enjoy some environmentally friendly food on the go.

The Bike Program Update

Oxy's bike rental program seems to be making slow but steady progress. Though the whole process is fairly complicated (new issues to address seem to pop up every class), things are gradually shaping up. For me, what has been most interesting, is seeing the various steps a program like this goes through to be properly implemented and approved.

Initially, I was pretty pumped about the whole idea, and genuinely thought that we could just fix some bikes, put up some signs to alert students, and we would have a fully functioning program. Obviously, things are not that simple. Thus far, we've been working figure out the numerous waiver/insurance issues, basic things such as where to store the bikes and how to check them out to students, student outreach, and, of course, maintenance. Each of these topics requires a good deal of thoughtful planning, especially since they need to be approved by the Administration before any real action can be taken.

In response to these concerns, we've been reviewing past proposals and waivers in use at other schools with bike programs (such as Pitzer). Also, we're exploring the possibility of producing some sort of bike safety video to further ensure cautious riders. The group has held a number of meetings with several Oxy administrators, such as Rebecca Dowling, to address financial matters relating to the program. In terms of storage and check out systems, we've been in contact with the library, which, as some of you may know, is trying to integrate with the Oxy community in a more interactive way. This week there was an open forum in which library officials and students (including a few bike rental group members) discussed ways in which to renovate the library to promote their new aims. We're hoping to be able to piggyback on this idea of a more interactive library, and slip the bike rental program into the developing plans. As far as student outreach goes, we're also working on a survey that will give us an estimate of how students would react to this kind program. This to me, seems extremely important, seeing as there is no guarantee the program would be used, even if it is instated. Maintenace is still not totally figured out, although we've been in contact with local bike advocacy groups, such as the Bike Oven, and have thus far gotten a lot of support.

This is just a bit of what we've been working on. So, all in all, looks like things are progressing gradually.

Solar Information Session

When professor Snowden-Ifft first presented his slide show to the solar ambassadors in our class, I was incredibly excited about how fast the solar array would cover its construction costs. At the solar information session yesterday it was revealed, as Maddisen blogged, that Oxy would be forced to incur the costs of retrofitting our hook-ups to the county grid to the tune of $1.3 million. Snowden-Ifft also said that other costs that have only become apparent in the last week bring the total unexpected additional costs of the project to $2.5 million. This makes the project a bad investment(strictly financially)as it won't cover the costs of its installation and make up the amount lost to the endowment within the guaranteed lifetime of the panels. Instead of being solely paid for by the Oxy endowment, it is now necessary for the school to find a private donor(s) who can support us by offsetting these additional costs. The school has previously looked for donors to support a solar array however they never had clear plans or contracts for what the array would look like. Now that we are in the last stages of planning and getting the legal authority to build an array, it would seem that finding a donor should be easier.
If the project gets held up for too long in this stage of looking for a donor, the value of the Department of Water and Power subsidy that we would receive from constructing the array can greatly diminish. Maybe this coming alumni weekend we can find some financial support for our solar project to get it off the ground while we still can.

Is Oxy Running Out of Time?

Yesterday Professor Snowden-Ift conducted a campus-wide solar energy briefing at Oxy. Although he started strong with numbers, charts, and, if I may say so, wonderful undertones of excitement and entrepreneurship, before he finished his presentation it was very obvious that something was not quite right. Had Occidental jumped on this solar bandwagon a month ago costs would not include an extra $1.3 million. Prior to yesterday projected costs were much lower. Although a change in numbers is frustrating, it is unnecessary for this to be an end all to Oxy’s solar project. What is most unfortunate about this change in numbers is the timing of it. Within the next week Professor Snowden-Ift will be presenting these projected costs and projected benefits to Oxy’s Board of Directors. An additional $1.3 million will not go over well.

Do not fret! This by no means signifies an end to Solar at Oxy, but it does emphasize the time restraint set upon us. With every day, week, and year that goes by Oxy is losing out. Not only losing out on a more viable economic decisions, but also missing out on so many other opportunities. In a few years it will be impossible for Oxy to find such competitive rates on solar arrays. In a few years it will be impossible for Oxy to boast the largest private solar array in the L.A. county. In a few years it will be impossible for Oxy to claim the largest private solar array of any U.S. private college. In a few years it will also be too late to take back the great number of tons of CO2 Oxy will have contributed to our atmosphere due to regular usage of electricity.

Before yesterday’s briefing I understand the importance of Oxy using solar energy, but I had no idea on the importance of this limited time frame. What can we do? As faculty members we can continue to support this project, as students we must begin to show that this is what we need, and as individuals I think we all need to step up, speak out, and make it known that this is what we want and need.

The Green Collar Economy

I have no reservations in admitting that last year, when the Dow Jones tanked, when innumerable banks failed, when the housing and just about every other market went under and the American economy was consequently sent into chaos, my first thought was: "Shit, there goes the environment." I feared that all of the exposure global warming had gained, both public and political, and the progress being made to take steps toward reducing carbon emissions would be tossed far out of mind given the new economic situation. I feared all the public pressure for improved mileage standards, greater energy efficiency, and more sustainable food would be diverted to preventing bankruptcy, fixing the economy, and preserving jobs. My great concern was that people would see the urgency in economic recovery—which is, indeed, extremely pressing—and forget the urgency of our environmental troubles. I worried that the loss of momentum at such a critical time (a time at which action must be taken, or else it would be too late to reverse the damage of climate change) would ensure that no progress could ever truly be made.

At the same time, however, I recognized that meltdowns are the catalysts of transformation. This economic downturn could provide the American public with the perfect opportunity to rethink how they live. We might realize that the capitalistic, self-interested consumer society we operate by does not support sustainability and happiness; we would see it could, in fact, fail (horrendously). Now is the perfect time to remake the American economy and lifestyle. Great examples have already been provided by states like Oregon, where the government has stressed and supported the creation of “green/sustainable jobs.” Oregon’s Green Jobs Initiative seeks to establish a thriving clean energy sector and to provide workers with the skills necessary to use sustainable practices in their field of work. Such jobs could include construction—Oregon has drafted legislation that ensures that local jobs will be generated renovating homes and redesigning buildings to improve energy efficiency. Wedding economic recovery and the green movement together, Oregon has already planted the roots of a green society. I hope this is just the beginning of what will become a nationwide green collar workforce and sustainable economy.

Check out:

http://www.greencollarblog.org/oregon_green_jobs/

http://oregongreenjobsnow.blogspot.com/

http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/docs/Workforce_LegConcept_draft--8-06.pdf

Expanding Oxy's Solar Endeavors

I continue to be excited with the progress that professor Snowden-Ift and the solar committee are making on this project. I just learned in class that there will be a campus wide briefing on Wednesday October 21st at 4:30-5:30. So please let your friends know about this meeting, and hopefully you can attend. Getting the word out to the greater Occidental Community is a huge part of this project and will be instrumental in rallying some support for the project. I do feel that the Occidental community is very concerned of the environmental issues we face in the world and will be very supportive of the project. President Vietch has also begun to talk with some of the surrounding community members about the project and this is also a very good sign.

As we begin to move into the phase where this plan is becoming a reality I believe that the Occidental community needs to put great effort into teaching people about benefits of solar power. Once constructed this array will be used as a teaching point for physics classes here at Oxy and local public schools public schools will be allowed to come and use the array to teach their students about solar. I also think it is very important that we outreach to the homeowner community and teach them why solar is important and how it can make their lives better. Outreach to both the community and local homeowners has been discussed and programs are in the making to make this outreach possible. However, outreach to other colleges, universities, large business, etc. about the benefits of installing solar arrays right now has not been discussed. Part of the rationale behind this whole project is that the cost of installing solar panels is at an all time low and the government subsidies are at an all time high, making the choice to go solar a no brainer. So why doesn't Occidental take a leadership role in the greater community and alert other large institutions to the benefits of crossing over to solar at this point in time? Part of me thinks that most colleges and universities probably are aware of the ability to install solar for very cheap and some institutions will find it feasible and do it and others may not take advantage of the situation. In which case our solar array may not be the biggest of any private college in the country for long, but in my opinion that really is unimportant. The other part of me says that maybe these larger institutions don't realize what a great deal installing solar would be at this time and may miss the opportunity. For institutions like these I believe that Occidental needs to be proactive in the greater community of private colleges and universities and show them what we are doing here, and in a sense spread the word about solar. I don't believe that Occidental is the type of institution that will let pride keep such a great secret from helping other institutions switch to more sustainable energy

Food System Reform Compliments of First Lady Michelle Obama?

Is Michelle Obama about to take on Big Food?

Michelle Obama has planted a garden at the White House, made speeches on eating healthy and is holding "secret meetings" with her policy team and USDA officials. This sounds like a recipe for a food system reform. While most First Ladies do not attempt to make policy recommendations or fail at doing so (i.e. Hillary Clinton's Health Care Plan of 1993), I think Michelle Obama may have a chance at being successful. Nowadays everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, race and age, is paying attention to the quality of food. As we know it is a hard-hitting issue on college campuses across the nation and most are trying to change where college's get their food from or at least educating the student body about food options on campus (plug for food survey, if you have not taken it, take it NOW!). Her policy team consists of White House Food Initiatives Coordinator Sam Kass and Policy Director Jocelyn Frye, who are compiling a new set of national food and health initiatives. Mrs. Obama is developing her "policy" around former FDA chief David Kessler's new book, The End of Overeating. The book states that sugar, fat and salt are addictive and America is addicted to them. I think it would be amazing if the First Lady rather than the President reformed our food system that affected not only the infrastructure in schools but also in households. It will be interesting to see how this takes form throughout Obama's term and if Michelle is not successful, I hope someone is.

The future of sustainability at Oxy

In thinking about the future of Occidental's campus greening movement, I find myself focusing on the "little things" that the college could do to achieve sustainability. While I am happy that our administration has proven to take some initiative to make our school more eco-friendly, namely by supporting the solar array proposal and agreeing to have all new buildings and renovations meet the silver standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green rating system, I wonder if we, as an educational institution, shouldn't be spending more time trying to instill a greater sense of responsibility among the members of our student body--aka the future leaders of this country. After all, how does Occidental plan on becoming a leader among other green campuses, if the very members of its student body are unwilling to shut off their lights?

I think one of the roots of our environmental crisis is our general unwillingness to change our ways. It's easiest to jump onboard in support of large projects like the installation of solar panels or green building designs, especially since showing your support these days is just a click away by accepting a group invitation on Facebook. But would we go so far as to give up parts of our comfortable and somewhat selfish lifestyles just for the sake of the planet? Some may say Yes, but the answer of many is unfortunately probably not.

We live in a world where incentives govern our actions. If the benefits of our actions aren’t tangible-if we can’t reap them immediately—then it’s unlikely that the majority of people will be willing to incur the costs of changing our ways. When people, who live less than a block from campus, drive to school they are not thinking about their carbon footprint, but something more along the lines of “I’m so late for class.” When we fail to turn our lights off before leaving the house, we comfort ourselves by thinking “at least someone will think I’m home so no one will break in.” How many people do you know actually unplug their appliances when not in use? Something as simple as that could curtail 5% of America’s energy use.

I looked at these sites to learn more easy and low cost ways on how to reduce our footprint:

http://ase.org/section/program/greencampus

http://energy.gov/energysavingtips.htm

Some of these “little things” are way too easy to accomplish, but what sort of incentives is the college willing to give us to do them? Will our efforts to conserve energy reflect themselves in lower tuition? Probably not…so the question remains, how do we change the attitude of not just Oxy students but of the world at large?

Marketplace Reform!

So, talking about all the energy, effort, and money that is going into the solar panel got me thinking about ways to make our school green. Of course the solar panel is a huge project that will have a big impact environmentally as well as economically. It will also bring attention to our school and maybe make it more appealing to future students.
However, I think small efforts should also be welcomed, efforts in which the students can have a say and a part. I was recently reading an article about ways in which some colleges have tried to go green, and I found a particular thing that caught my attention: Biodegradable utensils and reusable to-go containers. This caught my attention, because it is such a simple thing, that must of us don’t think about it, even while we are pouring food on our plastic containers. Currently the market place has plastic utensils and plastic to-go containers. On average people get food to go at least two times a week, making use of these plastic containers and then just throwing them away. This is a huge waste, both environmentally and economically.
As a solution to this problem, one of the colleges introduced the use of the Eco-Clamshell. This is a plastic container that can be reused, put in the microwave and the dishwasher. Students are given one box, and each time they go to the cafeteria they have to bring it with them, they exchange the used one for a clean one at the front and then get all the food they want. Now I realize that this system might need a lot of work to begin with (purchasing the Eco-Clamshells, changing the marketplace structure to accommodate the new system, etc), but once implemented the benefits will start to show. Another thing being implemented across campuses is the use of “Tater-Ware.” Like the name suggests, the Tater-Ware coffee lids are made from potatoes. The lids, as well as the Ecotainer coffee cups, are petroleum-free, and can break down over time in compost piles. And given the fact that we already have a compost pile on campus, the use of the “Tater-Ware” would be a great idea.
Also, the use of trays at the marketplace, wastes a lot of water. It would not be that hard for students to survive without trays and we would be saving the school a lot of money in electricity and water and helping the environment.
Now, I think all these ideas are GREAT! And easy to implement if we have the support of the students. Now, I’m not going to lie, it might be a little bit of a pain to not have trays at the marketplace or to have to carry your to-go container, but I think we would be able to publicize and promote these changes in such a way that instead of feeling like a pain they feel like something new and innovative that our school is doing. We can make the students feel like they are part of a progressive movement and make them feel excited about it.

*Kliah*

Campus Dining Suppliers

Another great couple weeks of eating. Wellfed the saturday before last was UNBELIEVABLE!

I did some research on the websites of the companies our campus dining patronizes. There is definitely room for improvement. As far as I could tell Driftwood Dairy has a pretty good ecological reputation and they are located pretty close to Oxy. Meyer Natural Angus Beef is hormone free (but not free range or grass fed), most of our seafood is sustainably harvested, and a lot of the other websites claimed to be 100% organic. However, it's really difficult to a) sort through all the misleading bullshit on the websites and b) figure out how the relative proportions we buy from each supplier. So while a lot of our companies claim to be organic, sysco is not, and I have a feeling they are the most major source. I looked at Pamona college, they got an A- on their green report card and their main supplier or Cysco equivalent is Sodexho which has one numerous green ethics awards. Also, none of our coffee is fair trade and I couldn't figure out where we get our poultry and eggs, so I don't know if they are cage free or not.
Here are the suppliers:

Cakery Bakery (Special Events
Dr. Soda

Dreyers Grand Ice Cream
Driftwood Dairy
EnviroTech (Green Cleaning Products)
Farmer Brother's
First Class Vending (Vending Machines throughout Campus)
Fosselman's Ice Cream (Tiger Cooler)
Gavina Coffee (Tiger Cooler)
Goldberg & Solovy Foods
The Growers' Collaborative
HannahMax Baking
Healthy Baking Company (Tiger Cooler)
The Individual Group (Paper Products)
Kikka Sushi (Tiger Cooler)
Le Chef Bakery
Meyer Natural Angus Beef (Marketplace and Tiger Cooler burgers)
Mutual Trading Company
Naked Juice (Marketplace)
Nature's Best
Oliver's Artisan Breads (Marketplace)
Organic to Go (Coffee Cart)
Otis Spunkmeyer
Pura Vida Coffee (Coffee Cart)
Rossmoor Pastries (Special Events)
Sparkletts Water
Swiss Chalet
Sysco
Taylor Maid Farms Coffee (Marketplace)
Trellis Earth (Corn-based Plastics)
United Natural

Also, I found that nutritious vending machines are on the rise. I wonder how difficult it would be to make a switch to something like this:

Forbes Vending machine snacks Click the links for more details on calories, fat and carbs. • GOOD • BAD Food Example • Bottled water • Baked chips Baked Cheetos Crunchy • Dried fruit Dried apricots • 100% fruit juice Red Jacket Orchards Juice • Nutrition bars Balance Bar • Nuts Almonds • Pretzels Rold Gold Classic Style Sticks • Skim milk • Tea Diet Arizona Green Tea • Vegetables Baby carrots • Yogurt Dannon Light 'n Fit Nonfat

What a Powerful and Meaningful Site

Many students of Occidental College and residents of the surrounding area have had the opportunity to interact with the area known locally as "Mount Fiji." There are great trails that lead to the top of this "mountain" in our little community. At the top one finds great panoramic views of Los Angeles and on an absolutely perfect day a magnificent site of the Pacific Ocean. But what does this all have to with Oxy's plan to build the largest single solar array in Los Angeles?
Well many may fear that this proposed project would limit the ability for both residents and students to take advantage of this local mountain top. In order to put this notion to rest I myself traveled and explored the desolate area known as "Mount Fiji." After studying the proposed sites for the solar area I was able to grasp the idea of the proposed appearance and size of the solar panels. My trek to the top of this hillside was but just a mere dirt path, but this dirt path has been incorporated into the project and absolutely will remain. So all access to the hillside will not be deterred by this project. The site from the top of the mountain is still as wondrous as I had remembered. Looking down the south side, the proposed site for the solar array, I noticed that the desolate area can hardly be seen from my position. I also noticed that the accessibility to the site was currently very minimal. This reinforced my notion that this was a good site for the solar array. After taking a few minutes at the top I continued on to explore the actually site of the project. I noticed that once again the dirt path leading to the top was the only real route that ran through the area of the proposed solar project, and as I stated earlier this path will not be hindered by the project. Coming down the hillside I took a few moments to gaze at the land that might possibly supply our college with almost a third of all our energy needs. The site that would showcase Oxy as a sustainable and environmentally conscience college. The site that would become a trademark of the initiative our college took to ensure a better future for our world. Standing there with all these thoughts running through my mind I felt a great sense of pride about the direction our college wants to move. This moment was powerful and it truly clinched, in my mind, that this project was worth the immediate cost and was something that we didn't just need to do but something that we must do. I stood back and though what a powerful and meaningful site this will be.

Getting Some Local Help

Last week, Chris Suzdak and I met with Oxy's Director of Risk Management, Rebecca Dowling about the safety/insurance-related hurdles associated with establishing a bike-sharing program on campus. As Chris mentioned in his blog post, Dowling is no stranger to student efforts to get kids on bikes. In previous attempts, overambitious costs and skeletal proposals prevented a go-ahead from administration. Dowling emphasized that our proposal be thorough, containing a detailed description of the system and bike protocol. Before we begin writing, we need to confirm the library's cooperation (The library's drive to re-envision itself as an "academic commons" seems to be playing into our hand) and assess our bike "fleet" and maintenance strategy.

In regard to evaluating the structural integrity of our bikes and keeping them safe I think the Bike Oven is a valuable asset. The Bike Oven (http://bikeoven.com/) or (323 223 8020) is a bicycle repair Co-op located at 3706 N. Figueroa street. With a “do-it-yourself” mission, the Bike Oven allows bicyclists to come in and receive personal instruction from the staff in fixing their bikes for 5$ a day. The Bike Oven provides all the tools as well as information on organized group rides around Los Angeles. I emailed a volunteer at the “oven,” John Harvey. I was curious if they had experience working alongside up-and-coming bike-sharing programs and whether they could give us a leg-up deciding if our acquired bikes are worth fixing and, if so, helping us fix them. Harvey’s response was incredibly promising – proposing two possible options. The first is that we can bring in the bikes, receive training for their repair, and potentially pay for our time there using parts removed from bikes not worth fixing. The alternative would be to trade 8-12 of our neglected bikes and our group's available time to volunteer at the Bike Oven, for a few of the Bike Oven's already ready-to-ride bikes, giving us a 'quick start' on our bike sharing fleet. This option seems surprisingly generous and something we may want to take advantage.

Sometime soon, I think a few of us from the alternative transportation team should make an effort to visit the Bike Oven. It is also important that we find out how regular a responsibility repairing our bikes will be. If a dozen bikes require frequent maintenance, we may want to look into establishing a minimal hour paid position at the “Cage” – working title for our Range view bike corral. In any event, we’re making great strides. Once we inherit out bikes, we’ll have a firmer grip on our situation and can move on accordingly with the Bike Oven and begin to start putting pen to paper for our proposal.

The Cost of Fine Dining

For such an extremely liberal institution, it seems to me that Oxy lags behind in the area of environmental awareness and activism. Case-in-point: the dining facilities. The only apparent sustainable measure that Oxy dining has taken is providing a recycling system. Even so, many students do not take advantage. Lack of caring on students’ parts is partly, (probably mostly), to blame. At the Cooler, it is easier for students to just throw all the waste from their meal (cups, bottles, leftover food, wrappers) in the garbage can rather than separating it. While it’s not hard to just throw containers in the clearly labeled bins, it does require a small amount of effort that some students are unwilling to put in. Confusion may be a factor as well. I am still unclear about what types of plastic Oxy recycles. My freshman year RAs told us at our very first hall spread that plastic numbers 1 and 2 (PETE and HDPE) were the only types Oxy recycled and to please throw the higher-numbered plastics in the garbage. Since then I’ve been told that all plastics can be recycled. This is an important distinction because many plastic containers in the dining commons are plastic #5, polypropylene: beverage containers, yogurt containers, and the Cooler salad/fruit containers (I think). If Oxy does not currently recycle all plastics, I think that is an important step to take, and should not be too difficult to implement. I my hometown, the city picks up plastic #1 and #2 from the curb on garbage day, and the higher numbered plastics can be taken to a different facility by the individual. I would assume there is a similar option in LA.
Recycling is such an important concern because SO much plastic gets used at Marketplace and Cooler. Large plastic to-go containers are very readily available at the Marketplace and most students don’t think twice about taking one; some even use them when eating at the facility. Similarly, to-go cups and utensils are way more commonly used than the non-disposable ones. One way to improve this situation would be to have a very minor cost/penalty for taking a to-go container in the Marketplace, like charging a dollar to the student’s meal plan. While I’m sure that there would be huge administrative obstacles to actually implementing this, I think it would be a push in the right direction of getting students to at least be aware of the environmental impact of their habits.

Obliviousness and the Transit System

When I asked my friends if they knew anything about using the L.A. Metro, they all stared at me with blank expressions. Though we’ve been in Los Angeles over a year, none of us know how to use public transportation to explore the city. At home, in Washington, DC, my friends and I use public transportation almost everyday. The DC transit system is very easy to use and rarely requires more than a two-step journey. The system is also accessible, timely and reaches far into the suburban areas.
I wanted to see how the LA system differs from the DC metro system. My friend and I had talked about going to see Watts’ Tower and so I decided this would be a good opportunity to tour the public transportation system in LA. When I looked up the travel itinerary for the trip to Watts, I realized that my public transportation experience might be slightly different in L.A. I saw that it would include multiple transfers with unclear inter-stage waiting times.
Throughout the trip, I saw that the obliviousness to public transportation in L.A. is not contained to Occidental’s campus. Many people were sporting confused facial expressions and asking questions about the directions of the trains. The unclear signs and lack of Metro officials did not help the experience. One woman from out of town asked a directional question of a nearby passenger who was a local and still unable to answer. This made me think that even some people who are using the system are not completely aware of the geographical layout of the neighborhoods and Metro lines. This hypothesis was further reinforced while I was walking around Watts. During the official tour of Sam Rodia’s towers, another tourist asked our guide which metro station was nearby. The guide said that she did not know, even though we could see the top of the station from the towers. I was able to answer the question after one day of travel while the tour guide has been in L.A. for three years attending graduate school. This shows that most people can avoid using the public transportation system altogether. In DC, parking is not as readily available and people are encouraged to use public transit. Because it is so easy and well-established, many people are more willing to use the DC Metro and buses.
In our class discussions and my group discussions with the Alternative Transportation group, we have discussed creating new ways of transportation on campus. For example, we are trying to implement Zip Car and a bike sharing program. I am very excited about these programs, but I do not think we have given as much thought to educating students about alternative systems that are already in place.

BIXI for OXY?

The students on the Alternative Transportation Team have begun to realize the multitude of issues that must be addressed in creating a Bike Share program at Oxy. The many types of programs already in place at other institutions and cities combined with the various possibilities here at Oxy create an overwhelming sensation in and of itself. Where to begin? What approach to use? Two major proposals have already been rejected at Oxy in recent years. One proposed, for-profit proposal was too over-the-top, asking the school to purchase expensive bikes and to build a storage structure behind the Johnson Student Center. It seemed promising but was rejected because of fire code violations regarding the storage structure and the lack of funding to make the project feasible. Meanwhile, the other proposal did not provide enough promise for feasibility and wouldn’t have met Oxy’s safety requirements. Our goal must be to find the middle ground.

Oxy’s Director of Risk Management, Rebecca Dowling, is a crucial authority on the judgment of proposal feasibility. She has seen great ideas created and then rejected because underlying assumptions did not take critical liability issues into consideration. In a recent meeting with her, Mrs. Dowling told Alternative Transportation team members that she is ready to help the project by leading it in the right direction. Her support is a great tool and she said she would be willing to meet regularly. She mentioned that recent projects had also been unable to be finished due to student leaders graduating. It is essential that students realize how much time a project will take and that younger students must get involved to see a project through and be able to see the benefits.

Browsing the internet for other bike rental programs around the world, I found an interesting for-profit bike rental system in Montreal. The company, BIXI, has many “stations” throughout the city where bikes can be rented out on an hour basis. This got me thinking of why we couldn’t just contract the job of implementing a bike share program out to a company that already knows and uses an effective method. Isn’t that what we’re planning to do with Zipcar? I know it sounds lame and lazy, but if it works, why not? Instead of having students pay with a credit card, have ID cards work with the pay station and give each student a certain limited amount of credit each semester so the system isn’t abused. The school could absorb the costs and use the successful, sharp-looking, and progressive system to promote good PR to prospective students. And perhaps help the school with our sustainability grade failures…

Here’s the BIXI site: http://montreal.bixi.com/home/home-explanation

And here are some pictures of “stations” in Montreal. The company is in the process of expanding to Boston and London. Why couldn’t the model be adapted to a college campus?

Oxy Admin: Friend or Foe?

          After doing some hardcore navigating of the Zipcar website, stalking other small colleges’ sustainability pages for any mention of car sharing, and (finally) talking to the National University Director for Zipcar, I was pumped.

Why so excited?  Perhaps I was a little delusional, but after all my research, I thought there was really no way Oxy couldn’t implement Zipcar – or a similar program – on campus.  Oxy’s urban, car-centric campus makes a car-sharing program a nearly inevitable student service.  Plus, over 130 colleges in the United States – including dozens of small liberal arts colleges – have had great success starting up a Zipcar program on campus.  Zipcar even does all the work – Oxy’s only obligation would be $1500/car/month revenue guarantees, which could hopefully be covered by financial support from the Sustainability Fund or other sources on campus.  Once these guarantees are met (which often happens after just a few months), Zipcar lifts them – permanently. It seemed like a win-win the Oxy admins should have no problem with: the students would be happier, parking would become less of an issue, and the program may even attract some prospective students.   And so, all giddy from talk of Priuses and online reservation systems, I went – with a student ASOC senator – to start casually talking to the Oxy administration. 

Needless to say, the meeting didn’t go exactly as I’d planned.  In fact, it was downright disheartening.

Clearly, I was a bit delusional to think that such a car-sharing program would be ‘inevitable.’  Unfortunately, Oxy admins – even those who are all for sustainable programs such as Zipcar – aren’t allowed to support these ideas as much as they would otherwise, because of Oxy’s strict policy-making criteria, otherwise known as Always-make-policies-based-upon-the-hypothetical-worst-case-scenario. Technicalities and policy details make implementing any program at Oxy a time-consuming and frustrating process.

Although there were quite a few potential issues listed by administrators regarding the Zipcar program, a primary concern was insurance.  Why?  One reason was that even though Zipcar provides insurance for all drivers in the program, a student – or someone hit by a student – may sue them if Zipcar insurance doesn’t cover the total accident costs. 

Practical?  Perhaps.  Irrational? I think so.  I agree that any school –especially a small school – should be cautious when adopting a new, potentially risky, program.  However, programs such as Zipcar and bike-sharing present the opportunity for far more benefits to students than potential costs.  Even better, these benefits have already been tested and proven by over one hundred other colleges and universities nationwide.  According to economics, and most students, that means that adopting these programs should be a no-brainer. 

Hopefully, by my next blog post, I’ll have some great news to share regarding Zipcar.  A fellow student (an ASOC senator) and I will be meeting with Rebecca Dowling (the woman in charge of insurance and waivers) and Tim Chang (the new ResLife director) on Friday to go over some Zipcar details.  If anyone would like to meet with Annie and I on Friday the 16^th before our meeting to give some suggestions or talk about Zipcar, please do so!  We’ll be outside the ASOC office from about 11:45-12:45.   

Lastly…a few Zipcar photos to get everyone excited!

Revival of the Bengal Bus??

Upon browsing Oxy's website, I came across a page directed towards prospective students regarding transportation in Los Angeles. The college lists four modes of transportation while living on campus: walking, driving, public transportation, and "shuttle bus," commonly referred to current students as the Bengal Bus. After reading this, I realized that I've maybe heard of/considered using the Bengal Bus' services at most, once or twice, since learning about it on a tour of Oxy as a high school senior. I believe that I can represent a great majority of the student body in this experience. Being a part of the alternative transportation team, I think that this is an another easy project that we should conquer--to spread the popularity and usage of the Bengal Bus. Although we should keep progress with our other main goals of implementing a shared bike and zip car program, in the meantime, we could easily take on this smaller project on the side. Since we are a relatively big group in the class, I don't think this would cause much burden at all. It would also provide an immediate alternative transportation solution, as the service is already in practice...just not taken advantage of.

What we could do as a group (or within the group) is maybe look into advertising for this service. Though it is already advertised on the small white board outside the student center in the quad, we should blow this up to a greater scale. We might want to look into posting flyers with the schedule, post the schedule in the digest, etc. Before advertising, a survey might also be good to distribute to quantify how many people use the Bengal Bus, how many people are aware of the Bengal Bus, how many people know its schedule, location, etc.

oxy.edu claims that "A free “Bengal Bus” shuttle service is available to you and your guests. The shuttles, which run every half hour on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, go to local restaurants, grocery stores, movie theaters, and DVD/video rental stores, as well as the Glendale Galleria and Old Pasadena." In addition to these "luxury trips," the Bengal Bus also provides rides during the weekdays for people who need to simply run errands. The schedule is as follows:

Mondays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Tuesdays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Thursdays

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm: Eagle Rock Errands (Target, CVS, Trader Joe's Loop)

Honestly, who actually knew about the frequency and destinations of the Bengal Bus??! With this knowledge, even with a car on campus, I might consider taking advantage of this resource! Let me know what you all think and if it is something we should pursue!

While we are in the midst of LOCAL FOOD MONTH, it is exciting to hear and see that people are filling out the food survey that the food group has produced. However, just as important is deciding what to do with the information that we aquire. As of now, the food group wants an article to be published in the OXY Weekly about the food survey and its findings. In addition, we would like the findings to be understood by the student body. Therefore, sending it out through the OXY digest is also desirable. While this is good work, I want to make sure that campus dinning services and employees can use the information to benefit all dinning experiences on campus. Does anyone have good ideas about how to relay information to the staff in a way that the information can be used to improve the dinning experience? The survey is open to take all of October. Information will be collected at the end of the month and decisions regarding what to do with the information have to be made. All in all, I am excited to read about what people think about dinning services here at Oxy.

If you haven't filled out the survey, here is the link!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jP_2bQmeS6_2b8N0jeZqI0WQ1g_3d_3d

On other note, I found this great example of another school garden that has undertaken a composting programs and implemented a student-run coffee/snack shop for free-trade, organic and healthier food options. Interestingly, the Dickinson College Farm (located in PA) provides information about the actual reduced amount of food waste. For example, it states that, "It is estimated that the Student Garden composts approximately 800 pounds of food waste each week!"http://www.dickinson.edu/storg/sisa/campus.html I think it would be a great idea for Oxy to do this too. It allows people to understand the actual benefits that composting provides. In regards to the coffee/snack shop ("Underground"), are gree-trade options going to be available? If yes, this should be advertised before the opening of Oxy's Green Bean Cafe.

Kylie Dennis

Competing for Greening

October is local foods month! As part of the food group we have been distributing and publicizing our survey on campus dining sustainability practices. Judging by our premature results, a significant majority of students (as well as staff) would be willing to spend in the 5-10 or 11-20 % ranges EXTRA for local or organic foods. Is this fact surprising to you? I think this is important for dining services to recognize. Their goal is to get business from students and staff and we are looking for local food! I am excited to see the results after the month is up so we can further analyze them and take steps for change through pressuring dining services and working with them to make sustainable choices.

On another note, this weekend is the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in D.C. (my home town). The event began in 2002 and happened again in 2005 and 2007. Teams of students from colleges and universities across the globe compete in designing and building the most ‘attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.’ The houses are brought to the Mall for display and the public can go in the houses to see them. Houses must be easy to live in, maintain healthy indoor environmental conditions, adequate lighting, supply energy to household appliances for cooking and cleaning, power home electronics, provide hot water, and balance energy and consumption. They are judged based on architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment and net metering. I think this is a super cool event and got to go into some of the impressive houses in 2007 and learned about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies.

For more information, check out the website: http://www.solardecathlon.org/

I hope that with all our resources on campus from UEPI, this class specifically, other physics/science majors, as well as eager environmental stewards we are capable of participating in this awesome event. Maybe we could buy solar panels at the discount rate when the solar project on campus buys its panels. We could even create a team by combing with other institutions in the area like UCLA, Cal Tech, or the Claremont schools. Do you think it would be possible for Occidental to pull together a team and compete in the future?