Consumption and Community

Reading Leonard’s chapter on consumption an idea that stuck out to me was her assertion that we need more than simply greener alternatives to what we already consume. She states, “trying to consume our way out of the mess we’re in is a familiar dead end” (174). I probably like many others at Oxy, do tend to fall into this mode of thinking. Much of the time my reaction is to try and find products that are produced in ways which are less exploitative or polluting and instead to consume greener, fair-trade products. But in the end this is still a form of consumption. According to Leonard, this concept of “greensuption” or “conscious consumption” should be practiced when we shop but “being an informed and engaged consumer is not a substitute for being an informed and engaged citizen”(175). Leonard’s solution to this in part participating in strong communities, which means, “we buy less stuff, use less energy consume fewer resources because we can share things and help one another”(176). This is where I feel that programs at Oxy can make a big impact on our consumption. Instead of simply shifting to buying greener products programs like bike sharing and zip car have the potential of contributing to Oxy’s sense of community and making the campus more environmentally friendly. So that instead of buying a more fuel-efficient car, students can join programs like zip car. To me, the idea of a secondhand store or exchange where students could drop off items they no longer want and pick up things they may need plays into this idea of building strong community resources as a way of reducing consumption. Not only will this be good for the environment, but also, according to Leonard, the decrease in consumption and having a strong local community will make us happier.

Sustainability, Ch. 4

I read Chapter four, the part about consumption. What with her introduction focusing on connectivity of all issues, the work-watch-shop cycle introduced in the introduction, and the general tone of the chapter, I came to the conclusion that reading any similar chapter would have contained almost the same message. Throughout the novel, Leonard is adamant that she is not attacking big business, and she IS right about that…what she is really attacking is the triumvirate of big business, government and culture, the latter two heavily influenced by the former. In fact, she attacks the culture, and the consumers who buy into it, much more than she goes after Walmart or Exxon, and when she does go after business, she takes shots at the Cold War military industrial complex and 1920s ad gimmicks rather than present ivory towers. I found it interesting that she advocates for New Urbanism (especially a return to the pre-Industrial Revolution small town) without saying it outright very often.

--Charles Bennett

Distribution/ Consumption

I want to start by tackling chapter 3 of Leonard's book on the distribution side of the spectrum. It seems the idea is to buy and sell as cheaply as possible maximising the profit while keeping the consumer happy paying rediculously low prices. This concept is as accepted too often by many Americans who love paying bottom dollar for everything. H&M is just one company metioned in her book that is a major contributor to over production and distribution of items. The focus has now been placed on addvertising and brand names rather than quality and longevity of products. Im not sure how to explain this other than an ideological change in hoaw people are buying and selling. Distribution changes have been directly correlated to the super market phenomenon and has both a positive and negative impact on consumers. Convienence is extremely important to the customer the ablitity to buy everything from cat litter to cookies has completly changed how people shop. What exactly will snap people back from this illusion that more is better or the cheapest item is the best? I have a bad feeling that abusing the system of globalization will have some lasting effects.

Ditching Secondhand Stigma

Reading Leonard’s chapter on Disposal got me thinking about the ways in which Oxy students dispose of their plethora of unwanted, dated, and/or broken items throughout the year, and in particular the end of the school year. Leonard explains that we as consumers are constantly throwing out perfectly good items because we don’t want to store them, we don’t know how to fix them, they aren’t cool anymore, etc. I must admit that I have been guilty of such actions, throwing something out at the end of the year because I don’t want to have to deal with mailing it back to Canada, or buying a new set of bedding for my dorm room each year because I didn’t want to have to deal with the old one over summer and such items are easy, and cheap, to replace. I also know that I am certainly not alone. Leonard states, “Waste is defined by where something is, not what it is. It’s about context, not content” (p.183). In other words, the idea of waste does not simply revolve around the actual object, but rather who views it as waste. Therefore, if it is knowledge that my waste could very well be considered something that is new and valuable to someone else, I really think Oxy should consider establishing a secondhand store/exchange where students could drop off items in good, working condition that they no longer want for whatever reason. I imagine the quantity and quality of clothing, books, electronics, furniture, and school supplies that would fill the store would be astonishing, and allow Oxy students to see that “used” and “secondhand” can be cool. Not only would the store prevent the unnecessary disposal of a wealth of valuable items much before they need to be, but it would hopefully teach students about the value of sharing and reusing, something that they could carry for the rest of their lives.

water fountains

analysis of water fountains

Advances In Alternative Transportation to Look for in the 2010-2011 School Year

While significant strides have been made in terms of alternative transportation at Oxy over the past school year, there is still room for much improvement. The founding of the bike sharing program and the approval of the forthcoming Zipcar program on campus demonstrate a sincere commitment from both students and administrators alike to improve alternative transportation resources at Oxy, but much more can be done to improve transportation alternatives. Some advancements can not be made until the administration lends a hand, but in the meantime, students can do a great deal to promote more sustainable lifestyles among the student population. The following is a brief run-down of what students can expect to see rolled out in the coming school year to improve alternative transportation options at Occidental.

1. A bigger, better bike-sharing program. The recent launch of the bike sharing program campus has already been proven to be a big hit among the student population. Evidence of this can be found in how much bikes have been rented out -- strolling past the bike sharing rack one can see that very few bike sharing bikes are available at any point during the day. Campaigns will be conducted this summer in order to procure more bikes for the program. With luck, the program will be able to raffle a few bikes in the fall so that a number of lucky students can have a bike for the entire semester, and the remainder will still available for daily checkout. Aside from better serving the student population looking for bikes, this new dimension of the bike sharing program would provide greater incentive for students to take care of the bikes, as they will be in the possession of one student for the entirety of the semester.

2. A fully functional bike shop and repair space in the bike sharing program cage. A number of the bike sharing bikes have already taken a beating since the program's launch, and many of those bikes have yet to be fixed and put back out for further use. The delay in returning these bikes to a functional state is due, in part, to the lack of resources in the bike cage. Over the summer, the cage will be built out into a function bike shop -- complete with a workbench, bike stand and wheel truing station. The new setup will allow bike sharing mechanics to more promptly repair bikes and return them for use, as well as offer open shop hours once or twice a week where students can come in and learn how to repair their own bike. The goal is to not only educate the student body about how to maintain their own bikes, but also to utilize the space as the hub for alternative transportation culture at Occidental College.

3. A very active bike club. The Occidental Bike Club, founded this year, had a slow start. However, after its first meeting just a few months ago, the club has led a few rides, including trips around Northeast Los Angeles and participating in the NELA Second Saturday Spoke(n) Art Ride. With the coming semester, however, the Bike Club plans to have week or bi-weekly rides. In addition to improving students' knowledge of Northeast Los Angeles and the safest bike routes, the club will be vital in promoting more cohesive bike culture on campus.

For questions or suggestions pertaining to improving student-lead alternative transportation initiatives, do not hesitate to contact Askasham Pace, Max Levine or myself. In the meantime, we look forward to better serving the Occidental community in the coming year.

Climate Healers - Solar Ovens

Climate Healers is a Non-Profit working in India to combat the climate crisis. Around 2 billion people burn 1.5 billion tons of wood annually for cooking alone. Those who live close to a forest tend to use the most wood, averaging 1.5 tons per person per year. The demand for wood as cooking fuel is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Climate Healer's approach to this problem rests on the observation that most of these 2 billion people live in regions where solar energy is plentiful. However, they cannot afford to purchase solar cookers for their daily use. Therefore, Climate Healer's provides solar cookers to the communities along with cell phones at no cost to members of the community. The cell phones are configured to measure the usage of the cookers as they get charged, and then rewards are issued in the form of cell phone talk time proportional to the usage.

By using cell phones to track the usage of the cookers, Climate Healers is able to achieve a quick feedback reward mechanism to keep the donors to the organization energized and motivated.