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Julia Huggins

The Dish on Disposable Dishes - 2 views

earth911.com/...the-dish-on-disposable-dishes

sustainability waste

shared by Julia Huggins on 20 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Julia Huggins on 20 Oct 10
     
    We in ENVS are all over the bon for composting waste at catered dinners/events. But do we need that waste in the first place? And what about in the lunch room -- where there's a dishwasher! -- paper cups for the special drinks? Really? And until they stop putting them out in those lines, I'm looking at you, ENVS students; plastic cups are only a few steps away.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Zach Holz on 20 Oct 10
     
    Agreed. Today, though, they just put out a rack of the standard plastic cups in the special drink line. Albeit, there are still the paper cups right next to them... I think this tailors nicely with some of the ideas we were talking about yesterday on companies providing what they deem to be the best for the consumer. I've chatted with some people in the Bon on how they feel about those paper cups being there, and the most common response has been, "well, at least they're compostable," followed by a little shrug. I know the Bon says officially that they have been using paper cups for those special drinks because to use the regular plastic cups would be a new strain on the dishwasher and staff, and an added cost. Even from simply an efficiency standpoint, this argument seems flawed. Surely buying those cups (which are probably sold at a premium, them being sourced from "sustainable resources" and being compostable as well) costs more than running the dishwasher and sanitizer one more time (or, perhaps I am deluded in thinking that the use of the water is less expensive...). I'm curious what level of analysis has actually gone into the decision to use the paper cups, and if the data actually support the statement. Either way, from simply a cursory glance around the Bon, many seem pretty complacent in simply grabbing for what is provided for them.
  • Zach Holz on 20 Oct 10
     
    Here is a link to one of the major cup companies, Solo, who markets the "Bare" paper cup as an alternative to regular cups: http://www.solocup.com/Sustainability/bare_solo_products.html I think their statement, "Since there is no one right answer for everyone, Solo provides a variety of product choices to satisfy differing priorities," is exactly what we would expect a company to say. Consumers have different tastes, and there is no "right answer" for any one of them, so the sustainable cup is just another flavor of disposable dishware. There is an inherent neutrality to this statement, and seems to connote that Solo sees their Bare sustainable line of cups as just another market option to fill a demand.
  • Julia Huggins on 21 Oct 10
     
    Who would be disadvantaged by having to use reusable or compostable cups??? this is why i dont understand economics
  • Lucy Roberts on 21 Oct 10
     
    Not only do the disposable cups in the Bon suck, but at the meet your major events bottled water was served, while there are water fountains just down the hall. I don't get it. And I have a big problem with Maggie's and DoveCote not selling reusable mugs or promoting the fact they have mugs you can use if you stay there.. How can we discourage this practice?
  • Lu'ukia Nakanelua on 22 Oct 10
     
    Lucy I totally get what your saying. I know that Maggies has the reusable mugs but they don't advertise them, however dovecote doesn't--they do have cups though. Maybe that can be a topic we could bring up with the sustainability task force? Jim what do you think?
Zach Holz

Collective Action Against the Loud Sun Chip Bag; Or, Why we Are Doomed - 0 views

motherjones.com/...k-attack-sunchips-cans-eco-bag

sustainability food

shared by Zach Holz on 23 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Zach Holz on 23 Oct 10
     
    In this Mother Jones piece, we learn about how consumers angry about Frito Lay's noisy new SunChip bag -- which, as the company touts on their website, is 100% compostable, and which you can actually watch it happen over the course of 14 weeks in your backyard compost pile -- have somehow applied enough of their angst against the company, and have gotten them to drop the noisy bag. Most likely because they couldn't hear the television over it. The author also has some interesting discussion of aesthetic concerns in our consumer choices from fluorescent lights to plant fiber bags, and how sometimes, at the root, it appears we value softer light and quieter bags more than we do environmental impact.
kat Weisbecker

Bright Neighbor Localism in Portland - 1 views

www.brightneighbor.com

localism sustainability community food ride share think globally act locally

shared by kat Weisbecker on 09 Sep 10 - Cached
  • kat Weisbecker on 09 Sep 10
     
    I went to one of their community information meetings in downtown Portland last year and it was very interesting. This group is very locally oriented and stresses community sharing and sustainability here in Portland. Some of their projects include ride shares, supporting local business, growing your own food and sharing the excess, worm composting, etc. Very much started from and follows the views of Localism. It is a way to connect to others in Portland to share ideas, rides, a helping hand, etc. Localism in effect.
Julia Huggins

Pooping out plastic not a painful process - 2 views

www.grist.org/...-plastic-not-a-painful-process

poop platic technology ecological modernization waste

shared by Julia Huggins on 29 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Julia Huggins on 29 Oct 10
     
    If this counts as ecological modernization, then I'm all for it.
  • Elijah Probst on 29 Oct 10
     
    I feel like with great ideas like this one, I am always waiting for the catch, because this solution seems too good to be true. That being said, I am in complete support and I think that more thought could be put into the whole concept of human waste. Especially on campus I think there are opportunities for experiments with other methods of dealing with waste than flush toilets. I know that at other schools there are composting contraptions, point being the way we deal with waste now is not necessarily the best way.
  • Julia Huggins on 29 Oct 10
     
    I know what you mean about the catch... but if you think about this, it makes a lot of sense. Poop is compact energy sources that we just throw away (or better yet, use to pollute our water resources). It's energy just waiting to be used and if we can think of a way to get a little more use out of that material, then we should. This is exactly the kind of creative thinking we're gonna have to start doing. We've gotta realize that we dont have an energy crisis in the sense that we're running our of energy sources: we have an energy crisis in that we think we have to use external energy. We let so much that already exists in our local systems just pass us by! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanure
Julia Huggins

New Agtivists: Nikhil Arora and Alex Velez turn coffee grounds into fun fungi kits | Grist - 0 views

www.grist.org/...ts-nikhil-arora-and-alex-velez

mushrooms food agriculture fungi compost

shared by Julia Huggins on 21 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Julia Huggins on 21 Jan 11
     
    Fungi grow on coffee ground "waste," produce large edible mushrooms, and leave behind rich fertile soil for your gardens. Sound too good to be true? Incorporating and working within pre-existing energy cycles, and keeping the whole system in mind when addressing issues of "waste" and "resources" can result in some surprisingly beneficial and efficient solutions! The even more exciting news? We're doing this too! There's a large bin in the basement of Juniper, full of the Bon's coffee grounds, now sprouting several pounds of oyster mushrooms. Take home message behind inspirational change? Follow the ideas that excite you, and bring them to life in your framework of time and place.
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