Time to "Rethink Green"

Too often in my own experience “environmentally conscious” has carried some sort of negative connotation. In high school, as president of the conservation club, I was often labeled as the “granola-eating,” “tree-hugging,” “crunchy,” “save the whales,” girl could be found stomping around in recycle bins to make room for the excessive amounts of paper that went to waste in classrooms. The way people looked at me when I spent my free periods sorting aluminum cans from non-recyclables made me feel as if I should be ashamed of what I was doing. Saving the planet just wasn’t cool.

Thankfully for my and the earth’s sake, being green has become increasingly “hip” lately, yet there are many that remain in denial about the impending environmental crisis that we are creating for ourselves. Some simply won’t acknowledge the scientific evidence that’s out there, others, in the face of economic turmoil, have swept the environment issue under the rug, and then there are those that admit that we do have a problem, but insist that sustainable alternatives to our current ways would be too late, too costly. And that’s where we’re going wrong.

Instead of asking, “What can Brown do for you?” I suggest we adopt the question, “What can green do for America?” In his most recent book, Our Choice, Al Gore describes the opportunities that alternative energy can provide as a chance to develop a profitable industry which will create millions of new US jobs that cannot be outsourced and which will reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. Sounds pretty good for being green.

The poster hanging in my room reads: “When you think green, think money. Economic and environmental progress go hand in hand.” We can spend the next few years coming up with excuses, or we can take advantage of the short time we have left to redefine green as not only an environmental solution, but as a promising tool to ensure America’s future success.

For more info about redefining green check out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/magazine/15green.t.html?pagewanted=2

Ramblings on Our Societal Condition

Recently, I got a headache after eating in the Marketplace. It wasn't the type of headache I was used to, and I had been feeling perfectly normal before the meal. I was well-rested, had even worked out the day before, the sun was shining; everything was great. So it puzzled me when a half hour later I was lying in bed, feeling crappy. It wasn't until then that I began to wonder what could have caused the situation. I thought back to what I had eaten; nothing terribly unhealthy as far as I could remember. The only thing unusual had been soy sauce. Dun dun dunnnn, the soy sauce. That's what had done it. I looked up the ingredients and low and behold! one of the byproducts of the fermentation process is mono-sodium glutamate (MSG). I knew that MSG and I don't typically get along, but I just hadn't thought about it before deciding to pour soy sauce all over my meal. The incident got me thinking about food and what it is we're putting into our bodies.

Even the most basic aspects of our lives are removed from our awareness. For instance, I don't really know anything about the food I consume. Who grew it? Where did it come from? What chemicals were used on it? I'm sure even as little as one hundred years ago (ok, maybe two hundred), this kind of ignorance was unheard of. People used to grow and raise their own food. Yes, I realize that things have changed in the name of progress and convenience, but I wonder if it has been a good thing. What have we really gotten out of this system? As a country, obesity levels have increased at an alarming rate. Only Colorado has a prevalence rate of less than 20% (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html). Childhood diabetes is common as McDonalds. It's getting scary.

And it's not just food. Think about clothing, toiletries, notebooks, computers, the list goes on. Essentially every material object we possess came from somewhere. Every single item has a back story, from being grown overseas, shipped somewhere else to be processed, sent to a warehouse, and then distributed to stores, where people can drive over and pick one up for themselves (Yay!). How much CO2 was produced for me to have the pen sitting next to me? What rain forest was cleared, how many animals displaced for me to have this notebook? It's funny, but I wish for the time when people made their own things. I don't know if it's possible to be nostalgic about something I've never actually experienced, but that's as close as I can get to describing the feeling.

The other thing that keeps coming to mind is the Western concept of waste. Generally, people of Western cultures see time in a strictly linear way. You're born, you live, you die, the end. People see trash the same way; once you're done, you throw it away and it's gone forever. Wrong. When you throw something away, it's simply being sent somewhere else. It is still just as much in existence as you or me, it's still taking up space. This contrasts to a more Eastern philosophy, especially prevalent in Hinduism. Though I myself am not Hindu, I've learned a little bit about it and can really appreciate its teachings on reincarnation and the cyclical nature of time. This results in much more balanced (and sustainable) practices when it comes to consumption and waste. (In theory, at least; I'm not going to tell you that places where most people are Hindu aren't polluted). The Iroquois also had similar notions. Within their rules for governing it was stated that before a decision could be made, it's impact on the next seven generations must be reviewed. This kind of thinking is ideal when it comes to sustainable practices. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, or how this can be utilized, but I've just been thinking about it a lot recently. Overall, people need to stop placing so much importance on convenience now, and start looking at the big picture.

A New Campus Tour Route

Most current Oxy students have taken the campus tour that takes you from the administration building to Newcomb Hall, past Weingart and to the Library. The second half of the tour includes the quad, sometimes the marketplace and back to the administration building. While Oxy students are quite exceptional, I have been thinking that Oxy can create a "green tour" that can be used in the future once more and more green projects are in place.

The "green tour" can include heading up the hill to see the garden. If the solar array is implemented on campus, that could be another stop. Also, if more sustainable lanscaping takes place, a stop to see that is also a good idea. While this tour would be best for the future, with more physical green projects on campus, it is fun to think of a new route for the tour guides.
Perhaps there could be an option of what tour you want to take. So, if you are more interested in sustainability you are able to see the campus from that angle rather than the new wing in the library.

This not only will allow students who are interested in sustainability and a green campus to understand Oxy's environmental endevors and unque glimmers of cretivity in greening the campus, but it could also spark interest in students and families that come to Oxy not interest Oxy's sustainable efforts. A new route could represent a greener future and a different way of presenting the school to futre students and parents.

The alternative transportation team has spent the past week finalizing our proposal for the bike sharing program. It is so nice to finally have our brainstorming, debating and drafting all neatly compiled into one word document. Though this proposal is only the first step towards the implementation of the bike sharing program, it is very satisfying to physically see the work that we have done this semester.

Our proposal is outlined in the following way:

1.The introduction discusses the need for the bike sharing program at Occidental and the benefits of implementing such a program. It includes our survey responses regarding approval for the program and community participation.

2. Section I outlines the suggested budget for our bike sharing program. The budget is primarily composed of the costs for repairing the twelve abandoned bikes we obtained and the costs of biking accessories, such as helmets and locks.

3. Section II describes the general logistics of our proposed program, including details about check out procedure. As of now, we are hoping to have a check out system through the library. This involves placing a new bike rack outside of the library.

4. Section III lays out information regarding the liability policies of our bike sharing program. We are planning to have fixed fees for damages and late/no returns based on the estimated worth of the bike.

5.Section IV provides resources for bike maintenance and safe riding in Los Angeles. We are hoping to provide links for fun routes in the area of Occidental College.

6.Section V is a supplement to our proposal. It contains letters of support for the bike sharing program and examples of successful bike sharing programs in other academic institutions.

I am using this blog post as an opportunity for seeking input from members of the two other groups. Please leave suggestions, comments or criticism. We would love to hear if any of you have anything to add or a different approach. Also if any of you have links to resources we could use for our safety and supplemental sections, it would be great! Thanks for your help everyone.

Art for the Environment

In this day and age, blogging has taken over the world. Personal blogs, religious blogs, political blogs, and blogs related to everything else under the sun exist. They come in all shapes and sizes and are efficient ways to spread opinions and information. A unique breed of blog addresses what happens when environmental issues and art are fused together.

The Eco Art Blog (http://ecoartblog.blogspot.com/) focuses on the cross section of art and ecology. Recent posts have discussed the use of wildflowers for public landscaping and temporary public installations of mini gardens in sidewalks. As a source of information, the Eco Art Blog provides international examples of ecological works of art.

EcoViz (http://ecoviz.org/) is an art review site. It reviews pro-environmental art and design projects. Recently reviewed is a campaign by the group Tappening. Tappening fights against the use of plastic water bottles. Modeled after the smear campaign by bottled water companies against tap water, one poster proclaimes "Bottled water causes blindness in puppies."

Most importantly, these blogs act to connect like minded people and similar blogs to one another. Each blog includes links to other blogs and links to websites of activism groups and artists. The blogs emphasize the recent re-articulation of enviornmental activists and serve as interesting places on the internet peruse. I suggest looking through both of these and clicking on some of their many links and seeing where it takes you.

How to turn Oxy's C into an A!

In the last few weeks, I've been getting more and more excited about Zipcar and bike sharing programs.  Despite quite a few bumps in the road, we're finally nearing the end (or the beginning?) of the Zipcar saga.  With the support of risk management and several other key administrators, the only step left is to get approval from the Cabinet.  With amazingly positive survey results and not many reasons to say no, the future is looking bright for car-sharing!  Although there are a few more hurdles for the bike sharing program, that's looking good as well.  It's incredible that after just a semester of hard work, we can potentially get both alternative transportation programs on campus.  

It seems that the rest of the campus is moving towards sustainability on its own, as well.  After installment of bike racks, the number of bikes on campus has exploded.  In addition, a large number of my friends are considering bringing their bikes to campus next semester (or, hopefully, will be avid users of the new bike sharing program!)  This snowball effect could easily turn Oxy from its current car-centrism to a campus where Zipcars, bikes, and good old-fashioned legs are the new norm for transportation around our urban environment.

But as much as I want to celebrate the work that has been done by both my group and individual Oxy students, I'm amazed by how much work is yet to be done to make this college truly sustainable.  As important as it is to recognize the current accomplishments of the College towards a 'green' campus, we also need to begin to plan what the next steps will be.  Judging by how long it took to get Zipcar, pre-existing program, approved at Oxy (thus far, unofficially approved), brainstorming and work for future projects should begin as soon as possible. 

What other projects could Oxy students pursue in order to improve our college's sustinability?  Here's my brainstorming below - feel free to post your own ideas in a comment!

- Start a composting program.  We could start with just the Green Bean, and perhaps slowly expand to the Cooler, Marketplace, and even the dorms.  I started a composting program at my high school, and it was surprisingly easy, even for a school of 700 students + faculty/staff.  Composting usually involves an extra receptacle for non-animal product food scraps, compostable cups and plastic containers, and food-soiled paper products, like napkins.  Our contracted trash collecting company likely works with composting as well; if not, there are a good number of other compost-collecting companies in the LA area.

- Add hand dryers to all bathrooms on campus (including dorms).  This may seem like a small gesture, but I always hate seeing the thousands of paper towels thrown into the garbage each week.  

- Make our landscaping more sustainable.  Replacing water-sucking non-native plants with some local, natural growth would decrease our water usage, which is currently astronomical (70% of our total water usage on campus comes from watering!)

- Keep working towards getting solar and more local and organic foods at our dining halls.

-Get rid of the leaf blowers!  They're pretty much pointless, and awful for the environment.  If the administration insists on getting rid of fallen leaves, would it be so awful to use a rake??  

- (this is a little wishful, but...) Turn Rangeview into an energy-generating gym!  We could also do this with the gym they're planning on installing in Alumni gym.  If people are already working out, we might as well get some free energy from it!  

Judging from the level of excitement surrounding local foods month, the potential solar array, Zipcars, and bike sharing, Oxy students are willing to help make campus sustainability a reality.  Post your ideas below OR, better yet, apply for funding to make it happen!

http://clubs.oxy.edu/asoc/sustainability.htm

 

US Temperatures: Yup, Still Rising

A few years ago global warming was a highly debated topic but in recent months, perhaps the past year, the discussion has fizzled. Clearly the state of our economy has captured President Obama's attention while environmental issues have been pushed aside, but global warming has not dissapeared and is not improving.

A recent article in TreeHugger provides findings from a new study, conducted by The Weather Channel and the non-profit Climate Channel, declaring that "we're now seeing more record high temperatures and fewer lows in the US than ever before." Andrew Revkin, a contributor to Dot Earth of The New York Times, explains that while there have been an increased number of record high temperatures the most noticable shift is in the reduction of record low temperatures.

I find this study interesting because so much debate focuses on day-time temperatures and very rarely on night-time temperatures. The study also states that by the end of 21st Century when the temperatures have increased by 3ºC there will be even fewer record lows. As this is the most recent study done on climate change I hope that it reignites the global warming debate and pressures the Obama Administration to take action on the environmental issues the US is facing.

Below is a video describing the work by Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research:

Oxy Bike Culture

As the transportation group is dutifully tackling the task of getting the bike-sharing program off the ground, I have been thinking about what some of the needs of this club are going to be in the long and short term. Aside from all the logistical concerns of renting bikes up, making repairs, assembling bikes etc., one of the biggest challenges I believe the club will face is how to establish itself, much like FEAST is currently trying to do, as an institution at Oxy -- among the ranks of the Oxy Weekly, KOXY and the new Green Bean Cafe. In order to make the new bike-sharing program more visible as well as promote a more permanent bike culture at the school, I think it would be wise to engage in an ad campaign promoting the various cycling events and groups in Los Angeles in conjunction with the club's start.

Oxy's location is prime for introducing students to Los Angeles bike culture, as Northeast LA is currently a hotbed for emergent avant-garde art and cycling culture. In addition to the plethora of bicycle shops in the area, there are a number of easily accessible organizations and monthly events that promote sustainable transportation, friendship, fitness, festivity and the arts. Here is an overview of a few of those groups and events:

C.I.C.L.E. - Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange is a Los Angeles (Eagle Rock!) based nonprofit organization devoted to advocating and campaigning for the bicycle as an environmentally, physically and cost efficient means of transportation in the city. They promote bike use through instructive riding courses on bike handling skills, traffic reading and planning rides.

more info at: www.cicle.org/


Midnight Ridazz - While C.I.C.L.E. appeals to your conscientious side and teaches riding skills, the Midnight Ridazz are here to show you how fun cycling is. The party-on-wheels that is the Midnight Ridazz travels around our fair city on the second Friday of every month as well as at most major Los Angeles bike events. They take to the road in packs for monthly art rides, as well as sight-seeing tours and pub crawls.

more info at: www.midnightridazz.com/


Downtown Art Ride - This ride that takes place on the second Thursday or every month coincides with the Downtown Art Walk. The ride is guided and the route is semi-regularly modified to keep things interesting for riders month to month. Almost every gallery that participates in the Downtown Art Walk is on the route of the ride, making it a nice way to get out and see the city and plenty of art. As most galleries that participate in the Downtown Art Walk have DJ's or bands and wine, these rides serve as great social events -- fellow riders are friendly! -- as well as an opportunity for some evening exercise.

more info at: http://downtownartride.com/


Spoke(n) Art Ride - Much like the Downtown Art Ride, but even closer! This ride through Highland Park and Eagle Rock on the second Saturday of every month coincides with the Second Saturday Gallery Night hosted by all the business in Northeast Los Angeles that are a part of NELAart. The ride begins at Ave. 50 and Figueroa and travels up Ave. 50, west on York, north up Eagle Rock and finally east on Colorado Blvd to the edge of Eagle Rock -- hitting every art gallery on the way. Rides usually conclude with an after-party at the Bike Oven on Figueroa.

more info at: http://bikeoven.com/spokenart/

Hopefully if we, as a class, can get the word out on these highlighted organizations, events and more along with out bike sharing program we can create not only effective transport for our fellow students, but also establish a more permanent bike culture on campus that directly contributes to building friendship, fitness and ties to our community.

Half-Yearly Garden Report

Hi Everyone,

This is the longest blog-post of all time. It is the half-yearly report to the admin on the progress of the garden. It includes qualitative and quantitative data on the garden operations as well as some of the food group's findings from our survey. It still needs some work-- specifically Bruce Steels will provide some information on water-usage and I need to include more data on the number of volunteers. Overall its all good news though :)

Garden Report to the Administration, November 2009

We are happy to report that after 8 months of work FEAST, along with many academic and administrative partnerships has established an organic vegetable garden on Occidental’s campus. The garden is located on the lawn in front of the Urban and Environmental Policy building and consists on 17, four by eight raised beds. We are in the midst of harvesting our second crop—radishes, lettuces, pumpkins, butternut squash, kale, chard, brussel sprouts, broccoli, peas and various herbs with more on the way. For more moment-to-moment information, pictures and videos please visit our blog: occidental-feast.blogspot.com

In this report we aim to share what we have accomplished—how on track we are with our original mission, how we have accomplished it, long-term goals and specific needs of the organization.

Original Mission and Success

The reason the club was founded was to answer the question, “We know the food systems in this country are bad for our health and the environment but what can we do about it?” The mission outlined in our founding documents is, “to learn about sustainable, local, and organic food through hands on experiences and to teach the cultural, environmental and economic impacts of food systems. Our overarching goal is to create awareness about sustainable, healthy food on the Occidental Campus and ultimately in the Los Angeles community.”

The educational aspect for club members as well as for other students who have come to some events has been substantial. Members who consistently come to weekly meetings have learned how to compost (that special ratio of straw, to food-prep waste to grass trimmings) as well as which seeds to plant at which time of year and watering and harvesting techniques. To reach out to the broader Oxy community we have been in the quad at lunch with informational fliers, served pumpkin pie from the garden at A Taste of Oxy, done a free-screening of Food Inc. in Johnson 200 and opened our garden to all community members regardless of their club membership status.

In terms of the “green-ness” of our project we have had 33 days of composting since the beginning of our project. Every week we use 6 bins of food-prep waste from the Marketplace each weighing about 10 pounds. That equals 1,980 pounds of waste that we diverted from a landfill (as well as the amount of CO2 it would take to cart it there). We also use 3 full garbage bags of grass trimmings every week (provided by Facilities). That makes 100 bags of grass trimmings diverted. There was some alarm when the first water bill came at the beginning of the fall but there were two reasons for this—neither of which had to do with the student garden (see attached spreadsheet for more information).

The produce generally gets distributed between club members or used in meals provided by Well Fed, the new student-run “restaurant” (oxywellfed.blogspot.com for more information). As of November 1 we have all the raised beds staked in and from now on can measure the productive capabilities of the garden and look into new food distribution programs.

Community-Building

The community-building aspect of the club has been integral to the success of the garden. What started out as one or two people clamoring for an on-campus garden has turned into an organization with over 300 members, 20 or 30 of who attend events on a regular basis. There are no guidelines on who can be a member and as a result students of all classes and all backgrounds have met each other as well as professors from different disciplines, various staff members and even supportive community members. Events range from our weekly Thursday meetings to turn the compost pile, plant and harvest to trips to the beach to collect kelp to improve the quality of our compost, to potluck dinners and brunches to baking 20 pumpkin pies (with pumpkins from the garden!) to share at A Taste of Oxy. There are just as many freshman involved in the program as there are seniors which not only makes for a friendly atmosphere but also ensures the sustainability of the effort.

On some days we have had so many volunteers and not enough jobs for all the hands. As a result we have had collaborative programming on some Thursdays. One afternoon we had a certified yoga instructor (and fellow student) teach a yoga course. Another Thursday we had a student-band play. We’re hoping to have permanent student art in the garden installed next semester (a bench as well as mosaic stepping stones). The garden has morphed from a sustainability project into a platform to host student-projects--all the while maintaining our original mission of awareness and hands-on learning.

Leadership Development

As graduation approaches for current club leaders we are looking closely at leadership development for next year. Luckily we have very dedicated underclassmen involved in the project and are developing an executive board around them. We’re hoping for more collaborative management and have five elected positions for the spring: Presidential Team, Chicken Guardian(s), Gardening/ Composting Expert, Events Manager/Fundraising and Treasurer. Elections will be held the first week of December and we already have 10 candidates on the ballot.

Key to the success of future management is strong partnerships with faculty, administration and staff as they can monitor successes and failures from year to year. Currently we have strong links with the UEP department (specifically Professor Vallianatos and Heng Lam Foong), Facilities (Bruce Steele) and various administrators (Dean Avery, James Tranquada), Campus dining (Amy Munoz).

Organization Needs and Long-Term Goals

We have a few pressing needs that we hope the administration will help us with. Currently we store all our tools in the basement of the UEP building. This is not only a pain for us but also a burden on Campus Safety whom we must call to let us in and then again to let us put the tools away. We need a tool-shed in the garden. We believe that we could build one for around $300.

This semester we completed research and a proposal around the idea of getting chickens. We met with Rebecca Dowling to hear her perspective and the final proposal is attached this report (covering avian flu concerns, maintenance, and neighbor concerns). We are looking at the leadership for next year to determine whether we are justified in implementing the program.

Looking more long-term we hope to be an established organization on campus much like the Oxy Weekly or Koxy (radio). While our operations do not require a large budget we do need straw every week for composting, updated tools, seeds, transportation and some other basics. It would be more efficient to not consistently apply for funds from ASOC or the Sustainability Fund. Perhaps we could automatically get 20% of the Sustainability Fund each year, giving an incentive for FEAST members to recruit students to donate to the program.

Sustainable Food At Oxy

The issue of sustainable food is something students and faculty alike are passionate about. In partnership with UEP 247, FEAST put together a survey to gauge students’ desire to have more local and organic foods available in campus dining facilities. 64.2% of the 205 survey respondents stated that they care about both local and organic food being offered on campus. 82% of respondents said they eat lunch in campus dining facilities more than any other meal. Fruit was the most important item that students wanted to see local/ organic closely followed by dairy and vegetables. 34.8% of respondents said they would be willing to pay extra money for local food along with 53.4% who stated it depended on how much extra. Of that 53.4%, 51.4% said they would be willing to pay 5-10% more. During Local Foods Month, hosted in October by FEAST, UEPI and the ORSL the Marketplace offered all local foods. When I asked Amy Munoz (head of Campus Dining) how much that program increased the budget the answer went well with our findings—just over 10%. Given our data we recommend providing more local and organic fruit, dairy and vegetables during the lunch hours.

HWY 710 Expansion

While I have been focused on food and sustainability here at Occidental this past semester, I have come across a different topic that both involves the Occidental community as well as the surrounding community that is equally as important--the 710 freeway expansion.

The 710 freeway is, as most of you know, very busy and congested. It serves as a main driving route for trucks coming and going from the LA and Long Beach Ports inland to warehousing facilities. It also serves as the cause for numerous environmental and health impacts on the surrounding communities (like Wilmington) that are built so close to the freeway. For instance, when the trucks idle, the community breathes in the toxic fumes. Children playing in parks are also vulnerable to the polluted air. Basically, there is no escape because there are so many trucks that pollute the environment.

The expansion of the 710 plans to connect the 710 and the 210, which runs east and west. However, in oder to do this, the freeway tunnel would have to be constructed through Pasadena. Our new neighbor would be the 710. What does this mean? Occidental faculty, administration and students, as well as community members, would also endure increased truck traffic, increased noise and increased pollution. This site has great information about the project: http://www.710freeway.org/

This expansion project is a direct contrast to the goals of so many who work toward a greener built environment and a more bike/pedestrian friendly neighborhood. In addition, the project also represents the values of our city--are people or business more important? It is also a matter of convenience. We are used to efficiency and expediency in all aspects of life--internet, food, communication, etc. However, if you stop and look, this "efficiency and expediency" does not always benefit everyone. Just as the Wilmington community has fought against the LA/LB port, we now are part of the fight, connecting people from different walks of life due to a common concern.

Please attend the informational meeting TOMORROW (November 12th) at 11:45 am in Fowler 302. Occidental puts forth energy to make this area more pedestrian friendly. However, are we willing to fight for the cause?

kylie dennis

In addition to East Yard Communities For Environmental Justice's success in the No Vernon Power Plant Campaign, EYCEJ had a major victory regarding railroad emissions reductions.  Since EYCEJ's conception in 2001, the organization's primary campaign has been railyard emissions reduction.  EYCEJ is located in Commerce, which is a community five miles east of Los Angeles that is physically defined by the 5 freeway to the north, the 710 to the west and is home to large BNSF and Union Pacific railyards as well as other businesses involved in the goods movement.  Diesel emissions from the railyards, rail equipment, and trucks that pass through the community have caused the residents of Commerce to be 1000 times more likely to get Cancer than anyone else in Los Angeles.  After EYCEJ sued the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) for not exercising their regulatory power over the railyards, AQMD finally acknowledged their power and agreed to hold a public hearing in which one of the two main agendas would be railyard emissions.  The day before the meeting the LA Times released a front page story about EYCEJ's campaign.  This was extremely exciting because it is the best media exposure the organization ever received and proved to be very timely.  The article serves as evidence to AQMD that this is a serious issue that many people are concerned by.  Furthermore, it made it almost impossible for AQMD to ignore the issue because the issue is under media scrutiny and the public are waiting for AQMD's response.  Before the meeting EYCEJ and our coaltion partners from throughout the state held a rally outside of AQMD headquarters.  We then entered the meeting and testified to ask AQMD to instate rules and regulations for emissions reductions at the railyards.  We had hoped that the rule making process would begin immediately and that AQMD would accept our suggestions for rule making, but AQMD agreed to reconvene in 140 days to then begin the rule making process.  EYCEJ still regards this as a victory because at least they agreed to begin a rule making process.

No Vernon Power Plant

The organization I am currently interning with, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, had a major campaign victory this past month.  EYCEJ and our coalition partners such as Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) had been working since 2006 to combat the City of Vernon's proposal for a new 943-megawatt power plant.  According Vernon's own studies that power plant would have been directly responsible for at least 11 deaths every year and thousands of tons of fine soot particles linked to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses would be emitted into the air.  Independent studies projected the yearly death-rate as high as 25 people.  In addition to the environmental and health impacts of the proposed power plant project, the emissions would exacerbate cumulative impacts that are already extremely dangerous.  No studies of the proposed plant accounted for cumulative impacts but emissions levels in the region are already severe and additional toxic emissions can not be tolerated.  Although Vernon is almost entirely industrial, it is adjacent to residential neighborhoods in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Huntington Park, Maywood and Commerce.  Furthermore, the power plant would have been located within a mile from many sensitive receptors.  It was a difficult campaign because Vernon is exclusively Industrial so the biggest obstacle for organizing was figuring out how to apply pressure to a city that had no residents and has no legal obligation to its neighboring communities.  The community organizations ultimately won the battle in large part because they successfully mobilized residents from all five of the surrounding communities and lobbied the South Coast Air Quality Management District, an offshoot of CARB who has jurisdiction throughout Southern California, to shutdown the proposal based on the proposed plant's own emissions levels and the exacerbation of cumulative impacts.  Environmental activists, community members, religious groups, community organizations such as EYCEJ and CBE marched in victory through the streets of Vernon to the Vernon City Hall.  A rally was held outside the City Hall as many of its employees were leaving work and had to walk through the rally.  We shouted "Shame on you!" and other rallying cries as we let Vernon know that we weren't going to take any more pollution from them.  The rally was not only a victory rally; however, because Vernon has plans to submit a new proposal for a smaller 330 megawatt plant that will still kill five people a year from toxic emissions.  Therefore, the rally had the dual effect of celebrating our victory and showing Vernon that we aren't going away and will fight their next proposal. 

Sustainable Lawns?

I am a firm believer that change is made from the bottom up, starting with small problems and moving on to bigger problems. One small environmental problem that I was not aware of until very recently is lawns. In the U.S. lawns cover of 40 million acres of land and the average homeowner uses hundreds of gallons of water and burns 18 gallons of fuel per year to sustain his/her lawn. From an economic standpoint during the summer months irrigating the average household lawn could use up to as much as 60% of the total households water consumption. I won’t lie, I loved having a back lawn to play on when I grew up. My Dad is very fond of his lawn as he mows and cares for it every week, and some of his passion for gardening yard work rubbed off on me in my high school years. So for people like my Dad and I who like having lawns but want to enjoy our lawns in a more sustainable and environmentally healthy way there are other like us out there. SafeLawns is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting natural lawn care and grounds maintenance. The website offers a number of tips on how to fertilize, mow, and water your lawn in a more sustainable manner.

For example, SafeLawns suggests spreading tea or coffee grounds on your lawn as a substitute for chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers can often be harsh not only on the environment as only about 35% of the chemicals reach the plants roots, but they can also damage the plants root system and weaken the plant. The website also recommends switching to electric or even old school push mowers from the old noisy gasoline mowers. The website also gives some places to buy affordable, high quality push mowers because they are not that easy to find. Another very interesting tip is before planting your lawn cover it with a thick layer of mulch which will allow the lawn to soak up an exponentially higher amount of water, allowing for less water being wasted and in the end saving a bundle of money. I am sure the gardening group is probably amazed at how far behind I am on the usefulness of mulch. Would it be possible to use any of these tips at Occidental? I wonder how much money we as a college could save? And at the same time keep our nice lawns and reduce our environmental footprint. Again, the college may already be using more environmentally sustainable methods of lawn maintenance and I am just oblivious. Anyway, in the midst of this drought in southern California at the very least I think it would make a huge impact if just a tiny fraction of homeowners adopted some of these water saving tips on SafeLawns.org. If you are interested, check out the website at www.safelawns.org.

Bigger Isn't Always Better

What is the infatuation with building the biggest solar array of any private college in America? Why not start with a smaller prototype project that can bring the same awareness of sustainability? These questions were asked by other colleges in the past and are now should be considered at Occidental College.
Arizona State University is located in an area with a plethora of sun and opportunity for solar energy, so it is no wonder that they started working on this source of renewable energy decades before most colleges. However, they started their programs small in order to test solar energy on their campus and to learn from their mistakes early on. In taking this approach, they have continued to add solar projects that are better able to perform and they have capitalized on the ability to learn from the mistakes that were made in earlier projects. As they have learned the best ways for their college to utilize the sun as an energy source their projects have grown in size. After years worth of projects, testings, trail and errors, Arizona State University has installed and currently operates more than 1.8 megawatts of solar energy. http://solar.asu.edu/

What does this have to do with Occidental College? Yes, we want to install solar and take advantage of rebates offered now, but rushing into a project may not be the best thing for our institution. There is no denying that the idea of solar energy is a great thing, especially in a place like California. What the example of ASU brings up is that learning and understanding your particular setting through testing of smaller projects might be more effective in the long term use of solar energy. Instead of spending millions of dollars on an enormous start-up project and then finding out there may have been better placements, technologies, or other opportunities, it may actually be better to start small and expand on the best practices that are found.
Since Occidental is currently having trouble funding an array of 2 megawatts they need to consider different possibilities while still maintaining the idea of sustainability. I don't believe that giving up on solar should ever be considered on option but installing a smaller array and working to build on it might be a plausible option for Occidental College.

Vandalism and Theft: Resentment of Trendy Urban Middle Class

An article in The New York Times this week called “French Ideal of Bicycle-Sharing Meets Reality” describes the setbacks facing Vélib’, Paris’s bicycle rental system. The system, which operates similarly to the BIXI set-up in Montreal that I mentioned in my previous blog, has seen the consequences of public good abuse. Since its introduction in 2007, Vélib’, a government-run program, has seen 80 percent of its initial 20,600 bikes stolen or damaged. One reason for theft might be the fact that even though the rental process includes a $250 deposit, the cost of each of Vélib’ bicycle, which is specially designed, is actually $3,500. Another cause attributed to theft and vandalism has been the bicycle’s role as a symbol of the trendy urban middle class and tourism. Resentful youth in France, which are known for making their opinions known through action, have made the bicycle out to be a target of vandalism and abuse.

Similar concerns were voiced in our group’s meeting at the Rangeview courtyard a few weeks back. If we painted the shared bikes a certain distinctive color and made them out to be recognizable to act as a symbol, they might receive more negative attention than positive. The youth of Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods might not take well to “Oxy” bikes. We can use the Paris case as evidence for potential issues.

Also, as the Alternative Transportation team writes our proposal, we need to remember to include appropriate and enforceable punishments/penalties for damages, etc. If we launch our program with too much of a relaxed policy, we could see the abuse of our program even by our own Oxy students because they see it as a resource they can do whatever they want with.