Class Reflection

Over the course of the fall semester, V515 Sustainable Communities intensified and extended my perception of sustainability. The links between environmental consciousness, economic equity, and social justice have been bolded and are very real. Going into the class I already had a personal interest in sustainability, especially behavior change and its social attributes, though V515 taught me some of the science behind the theory and actions. My perception of sustainability is know reinforced with some hard science and philosophy from many authors, including my fellow classmates.

Personal tests and reflections such as the Ecological Footprint Calculator intensified my sustainable responsibility. For instance, the calculator pointed out that much of the emissions caused by my lifestyle are due to food packaging and the transportation of it. The notion that it would take on average three and a half Earths to match American lifestyles with those of the rest of the world. The course has been a call to slow down and reevaluate my actions and personal lifestyle. I have always strived to become a more sustainable actor, but this class has been a catalyst. My diet, for instance, has been one of fish and non-meats (mainly vegetables and fruits) for almost three-years. I am known as a pescatarian. After taking this course, I understand that my diet has a much larger effect than I thought on the world. Whether it be the case of overfishing, food transportation, or the externalities of packaging, I now want to move more towards a diet that does not come in a box or a plastic bag and one that harms no person or animal. Although this transition will be difficult, it is a beacon for making good consumer choices.

The readings and class discussions make you truly consider what is sustainability. It is an all-encompassing concept that is difficult to define. Sustainability defines so many aspects of myself. I make daily choices based on the concept. My political and economic preferences are shaped by sustainability to an extent. Before I buy something, I think about its packaging and its supply chain. If I think the costs outweigh the benefits, and evaluate if I really need it, I am usually deterred from buying it. Along the same lines, I have always tried to revel in a simple living lifestyle; one where I appreciate the small pleasures of life and reduce my material wants to the lowest common denominator. The connection between the economic underlying of most things in our modern society and the concept of sustainability are very apparent after completing the course. In general, economics is more than a way for society to function, but rather a signal. Therefore, the term buycott (i.e., voting with your dollar) means much more to me than it did at the beginning of the semester. Whether it was the Ted Talks or the Wheeler readings, I will now strive to put this concept before any impulse to consume.

In addition to simple living, my other main interest that is a huge part of sustainability is community development. I approached this class wanting to find ways to bring people closer together through the unified goal of sustainability. The Roseland readings stocked my knowledge with tools such as regulation, financial incentives, voluntary action, and public expenditure. Whether the weekly topic was transportation, waste reduction, or land-use, I discovered tools to accomplish these topics in a sustainable manner through connecting members of the community. This level of human interaction and cooperation was illustrated in many real-life examples, which is a takeaway that I will always value. I looked to this course throughout the semester for ideas on how to combine my passion for community and people with that of sustainability. The readings and class discussions provided me with many ideas of how I can strive for a sustainable tomorrow through my future career and personal life. The ideas outlined in the readings also supplemented my understanding that all things are connected—especially in a community setting. Green roofs, for example, is a concept that I was generally unfamiliar with before this course, but now understand how it is a concept that comprises so much. I now know that economic development can result because there is a market for green roofs, it is a way to make communities stronger through the formation of public and private partnerships, and it is a way to re-localize efforts to combat large problems such as climate change. Green roofs also highlighted Roseland’s point that described environmental protection policies as very small solutions to a much larger problem. Sustainability is more than nature conservation, it is about nature integration, in which conservation becomes intuitive. Naturally, sustainability is more than carrying a Nature Conservancy totebag…but still respectable (that is my tote bag below by the way!).

My interest in the enveloping concept that is sustainability has expanded greatly because of V515 Sustainable Communities. Everyday in addition to scouring the news about the usual politics and global events, I check out Grist and try to make connections between class concepts and what is happening in sustainable communities and the market place throughout the world. The New Consumer also provides great food-for-thought. Out-of-class experiences gave me desire to pursue more community events. I often find some events such as lectures and public meetings intimidating because I usually attend them alone and everyone else there seems like an expert on the given topic. My outside experiences, specifically the Solar Power Outreach lecture in Indianapolis, gave me more confidence and willpower to attend such events. These events not only give you new knowledge about a sustainable topic, but they help you practice becoming a more civic member of society and connect you to others with similar interests.

The personal project portion of the class gave me a special opportunity to try a sustainable practice that I always wanted to try. It also gave me a chance to examine and experience the sustainable practices of my classmates. Although I do not own a pet or have kids (yet?), I got a lot of joy from reading about those topics and others. I enjoyed reading about projects that had similar themes to my own such as diet and waste reduction. There were others that I thought were simply awesome such as bee keeping and a carless semester. Although I did not get to read every blog entry by each of my classmates, I tried to view as many as possible. The good thing is that these blogs will not go away so I can always revisit them for new ideas. In the same vein, that is how I feel about this entire class. I would have loved to have taken this class and only this class so I could reap as many benefits from it as possible. Fortunately, I will always have my textbooks and my experiences to keep pushing forward and further investigate those things that I did not get to fully absorb. I am genuinely excited to see what becomes of my new outlook on sustainability and how it shapes the decisions I make in the future. Thank you for the opportunity, V515 Sustainable Communities.

Here’s to you.

Solar Powering Your Community Workshop

It has been a couple months since I went to the Solar Powering Your Community Workshop presented by Solar Outreach Partnership,
but the bad-tempered audience and solar wisdom presented are with me like it was yesterday. This out of class experience began at 8:30am on Friday September 28th, though it really started at 6:00am because I had to drive to the Indianapolis City-County building from Bloomington and find a place to park. Regardless, I greatly enjoyed myself. After I grabbed some free coffee and had a seat in this small conference room, I noticed SPEA Professor Terry Usrey was present in the audience. I had met him on a couple occasions before and knew that he was involved with The Southern Indiana Renewables Energy Network (SIREN)
because it was him who helped me get an internship at WFHB Bloomington’s EcoReport news program during the summer of 2011.

You can see the back of Terry Usrey’s head on the left…it wasn’t the most appropriate setting for taking photographs…

I mention that the audience was irritable because they were constantly interrupting the Solar Outreach Partnership presenters and arguing amongst each other. It was so rude, and I kept thinking to myself “Are these people serious? Are these people really grown adults?” One of the audience members shouted at another for asking too many questions about her specific project. Little did the shouting audience member know, but that woman was the person who organized the whole event. He did have a point though: Too many people were asking very specific questions that did not relate to the rest of the audience. Some of the presenters were from the Boston area so they probably thought Midwesterners are insane.

The presentation was awesome. I had always wanted to learn about solar energy and its benefits, given that it makes use of the most natural form of energy known to Earth: solar radiation. It was fascinating to hear about Germany as the leading country using solar energy. The first presenter, Phil Haddix, pointed out, to my surprise, that Germany receives as much solar radiation as Alaska! That means that the United States is more than capable of transferring entirely to solar energy. In fact, Mr. Haddix also said that the United States gets enough solar radiation to power the entire globe for one year. After surveying the audience with questions, we dove right into the basics of solar technology. There are three types of solar technology: Solar Photovoltaic (PV), Solar Hot Water, and Concentrated Solar Power. Fortunately, I was only slightly familiar with PV, thus there was not much information overlap. The purpose of the presentation was to demonstrate and explain the ways that municipal governments can adopt solar energy as a source. It was good to see that John Hazlett of the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability was there so he could pass along the message to Mayor Ballard.

City-County Building PV solar panels in the back entrance courtyard

Mr. Haddix went on to explain the inadequate market for solar energy in the Midwest, comparing Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Ohio was the leader while the other lagged behind from 2008 to 2011. He explained some of the cost breakdowns associated with solar energy in the United States and compared them to the costs of Germany. Hardware costs are fairly close in each country, but the non-hardware costs such as paperwork, permitting, and installation labor in the U.S. exceed those of Germany by just over $3.00 per watt. He also went on to compare the time it takes to install solar panels in the U.S. and Germany. Whereas it takes only 8 days to install panels in Germany, New York State’s goal is to install panels in 100 days. Clearly, the U.S. has some progress to make. He then attributed Germany’s success to a nationwide standardized process that is consistent and transparent for all regions of the country. He also provided a regulatory framework, which reminded me Roseland’s community tools. This one involved regulation. It was said that the key to a successful regulatory framework is to remove barriers, create incentives, and finally enact standards.

Jayson Uppal then presented about solar panels and zoning in communities. This was around the time the yelling match began between the two audience members. I am glad that Mr. Uppal was kind enough to calm them and continue with his interesting presentation. He explained that planning for solar energy in your community involves visioning and long-range goal setting (topics that were covered in Roseland Chapter 13 Governing Sustainable Communities), public investment, development work, regulations and incentives, and plan making. Mr. Uppal covered much of how barriers can be removed by addressing your given municipal government. He advised that citizens should make solar a by-right accessory use and press legislative officials to streamline the approval process and reduce costs. He actually referenced Bloomington, IN when mentioning how well cities are streamlining the solar installation regulatory process.

It was a pleasure to listen to solar professionals in a public setting. I had never really been to a lecture outside of Bloomington so it was enjoyable to experience one with non-students. I now understand the difficulties with getting a group of people to discuss something in a civil manner. Since the lecture I have been really into the Solar Outreach Partnership Youtube Channel. One thing I still have trouble understanding is feed-in tariffs and the specifics of how the process works. Here is an interesting Solar Outreach video describing the payback period of installing solar panels:

3-Point Plan for Sustainable Eating V: The Final Chapter

When it is all said and done, my personal project was a success. Even though I did not complete everything I had set out to do, I accomplished some of what I said I would and that’s all that matters. Much of the reason that I did not complete every part of the project (mainly the rain barrel) is because I wanted to be ambitious and bite off more than I could chew. The intention was to try three different things that I have always wanted to do but have never had the opportunity or reason to do so. I figured that composting, building a rain barrel, and practicing cooking plant-based meals were all loosely connected. All three aspects revolve around gardening, therefore this was an opportunity to try some sustainable practices that would fuel my future garden.

Composting

Composting has been the blood of my personal project. Although I turn and layer my compost only once or twice per week (as advised by the online resources in my former posts), I add to my indoor compost container on a daily basis. My trash can is now my tertiary receptacle—compost is my go-to for food waste, my recycling containers are for plastics, metals, and papers, and my trashcan is generally used for waste that cannot go in either of the other two containers. Obviously, I use the former two most. As I said in my last personal project post, composting has been my proudest undertaking in this endeavor. My dad visited my apartment building over Thanksgiving break and I showed him my compost. It is important to note that I have tried to get my mom and dad to compost at home for the past couple years with no success. I could tell that he was really impressed when he looked at my compost bin. Hopefully by showing him how awesome and simple composting can be I can use it as leverage to get him to start a pile.

See how little trash I have. Wow...right?

A good indoor compost container wins every time.

I learned a lot from this composting venture. Most importantly, I now understand why I had failed at composting in the past. I lacked consistency because my indoor or transfer container was not airtight. Prior composting efforts involved cheap tupperware and buckets. If anyone in this class wants to start a successful compost bin, invest in a decent container (preferably clear so you know when to take it to the larger outside container or outside pile) with an airtight lid. The airtight feature will prevent the smell of rotting fruits and vegetables and keep away insects. Whenever I attempted composting in the past I never managed to get deep enough into the process to witness the true spectacle that it is. It sounds funny, but you have to persevere if you ever want to start a compost. Consistency is key! It is a rather passive practice and is enjoyable when you see the results. I now look at food scraps and other materials in trashcans and am disappointed that those things will not be transformed into a resource.

I do not know how much useful soil will be left in my outside bin after winter. I hope it will continue to thrive through the depths of winter. Luckily, I found this helpful advice that explains how to manage a healthy compost pile in low temperatures. Regardless, composting is now second nature and will continue to be part of my daily life. It is difficult to think of a time when I did not compost.

Rain Barrel

On the opposite end of the spectrum, this is the part of my personal project that is disappointing. When I look back at the workload I had this semester, I am surprised that I even proposed such an ambitious idea. I do not think it is difficult to build a rain barrel under $20. It is certainly doable, but it was bad timing for me personally. I was only able to call a handful of businesses to find out if they had any food or gallon barrels. Most folks did not know what I was talking about or said they did not use such items. If I had more time in my schedule this semester, I would have walked from business to business with a photo of a rain barrel, such as the one below, to get the right answers. Plus saying no to someone’s face is much more difficult than over the phone.

I really learned that this project will take more time than what I have available in a semester. If I had set a $100 budget, disregarding any notion of obtaining a free barrel, I could have accomplished this part of the project in a weekend. Naturally, I wanted it to be a challenge and prove that it is possible to CREATE something (inexpensively) as opposed to BUY something prefabricated. I do know the workings and parts of a rain barrel and I know that I want to use non-PVC material to make it. When all said and done, this part could be an entire project in itself. I will proceed with my goal though and keep my eyes and ears open for a suitable barrel. This may be a better late spring-early summer project anyways.

Plant-Based Meals

I have had mild success with the meal portion of the project. It was inevitable that a week or two would get away from me—resulting in many frozen food items readily available in minutes. I have acquire the skill to make a hardy salad in different varieties. This part of the project was aimed at learning how to prepare a few main dishes that I could keep in my repertoire. Although I did not get too adventurous with this part of the project—mostly sticking with simple foods such as onion and mushroom tacos, black bean soup, basic falafels, pasta with vegetables, and vegetable stir-fry. Resources such as Supercook have been a great help when I am too lazy to seek out ingredients, but instead work with what I have.

I sometimes strayed away from my goal of frequenting mainly local groceries such as Bloomingfoods; I bought my vegetables, nuts, and fruits Bloomingfoods or Sahara Mart about as much as I did Kroger. Granted, it was much better than before I started the project—a time when I mostly bought from supermarkets. I enjoyed the feeling I got when I supported a local grocery, but the downside is that there is a definite price difference. Still, I will continue to buy things from local stores,especially bulk items such as granola and almonds. Until I broaden my horizon with preparing more sophisticated plant-based meals (rather than a salad and an apple), I will continue to search for recipes that will include vegetables I want to grow in my future garden. These include tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, red onions, etc.

In general, I learned a lot about my capabilities and how any sustainable practice can be achieved through consistency and focus. The project, especially my composting and meal preparation have made me even more mindful of simple pleasures.

It is obvious that I have developed new habits and am grateful for doing so. While this is the last personal project journal entry, my personal project extends beyond this blog. It should be dubbed “Sustainable Life Project” because each component is an effort to revise my lifestyle and improve my sustainable actions overtime. I am a firm believer in you should only worry about what you can control. There is much to be worried about in regards to the sustainability and health of planet earth and those who live on it. Fortunately, I have decided to keep making smart choices and not to become complacent. Sticking with personal ambitions is all the more rewarding when it produces positive externalities.

3-Point Plan for Sustainable Eating IV

I have come a long way with most of my personal project, while a third of it has completely stagnated. My efforts will continue, but it is clear which parts of the project are really taking shape. In the next few weeks, I will attempt to concentrate more on those aspects that are underdeveloped. Nonetheless, I am ecstatic that at least part of my personal project has come together.

Composting

Composting has been the greatest success by far, which I am particularly proud of. I have attempted composts piles in the past that never reached their full potential because I gave up on them. Thankfully, this personal project gave me a good reason to stick with it. As you can see in the pictures below, my compost has formed a fairly fertile soil. It has some more decomposing to go, but I think in the next month or so it should be pretty rich. My main concern is what I will do with it in the winter. Hopefully I can place it under the stairs outside of my apartment complex. I definitely will not stop after this much success.

Cleaning the transfer compost bin is always the worst part, but I use the water to wet some of my outside compost pile. Composting triumphs the garbage again!

Now that my compost is turning into a decent soil, it is time to research the best ways to use it in my future garden. Here is a pretty informative video that discusses the art of incorporating compost into your garden. Techniques include side dressing, broadcasting, dumping and spreading. You can also use a pitchfork to spread the compost for aeration purposes. Even though it seems rather straight forward, its better to make sure that you are doing it right.

Rain Barrel

On a different note, this is the third of my project that I am most disappointed with. Not much to report here except that I have made a few additional calls to businesses. I have called the major grocery stores such as Marsh, Kroger, and O’malia’s, but every person I talk to says they do not use gallon-plastic barrels. From the few car washes I have called I have not received an answer, but I may need to call at different hours. So the search for the barrel continues! I refuse to buy one because there are countless videos online with folks talking about how they got their barrels for free. I know I can do this, it’s only a matter of talking to the right person at the right time.

Plant-Based Meals

My plant-based meals continue, though they are not as substantial as I would like them to be. I continue to roast peppers and make spinach salads, and when I’m lazy I eat an apple or two. Tomorrow or Tuesday I plan on making these falafels, which I have made before. And look I already have the garbanzos beans!

Economic Democracy: The Credit Union as an Asset of Community Economic Development

For quite some time I have been interested in credit unions as an alternative to commercial banks. I have been, however, a lifetime customer of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank simply because my father worked for Chase and I never really understood the rationale of a credit union. While I was growing up the only credit union I remember seeing was the Indiana Members Credit Union located on East 82nd Street, but I did not pay it much attention. Similar to other community based and sustainability practices, I did not engage in them because they were not the norm and no one had informed me of their benefits.

As a sophomore undergraduate at Indiana University, I somehow decided to major in nonprofit management at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In my first nonprofit course, V221 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector, taught by Rebecca Nannery, we discussed the different types of IRS tax-exempt organizations. To my surprise, credit unions were in fact tax-exempt, just like public charities and political advocacy groups. According to the IRS, Federal Credit Unions, corporations organized under act of congress, are 501(c)(1) organizations, while state-chartered credit unions are 501(c)(14) organizations. Both types of credit unions are tax-exempt, meaning they are generally not subjected to state sales, payroll, property, federal income, and other taxes.

Although I did not learn anymore about credit unions in my other nonprofit classes, my interest and respect for the nonprofit sector intensified. This respect combined with my father ending his career with Chase after 25 years, my seasoned political views, and the 2008 financial crisis has driven me to the point where I feel obligated to transfer what little money I have in savings to a credit union. If I had made this decision earlier in my college career I probably would have given the IU Credit Union a try; however, it is not too late to use it as a resource to finding out more about making the change.

Since Roseland emphasizes the use of local credit unions as an important tool for promoting community economic development, it seemed appropriate to highlight some key features of these financial institutions and why they are important. Roseland declares that “[community economic] development without growth can be encouraged by supporting existing businesses and increasing the number of times each dollar circulates within the community” (214). Considering that major commercial banks—J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo—extract capital from communities in form of deposits, its understandable that state and other local credit unions are more likely to increase local economic development by keeping more money in the community. Due to the tax-exempt status of credit unions, these institutions do not distribute profits to shareholders, as do commercial banks. Like all other nonprofits, when a credit union makes any type of profit the money is reinvested in its operations, resulting in lower loan interest rates, higher interest on deposits, and little to no service fees.

It is widely understood that to be a part of a credit union a person must become a member. Membership is usually based on a shared connection such as profession or a geographic region. Fortunately for those who are not teachers or firefighters, you are able to become a member of your city or town credit union if you have decent credit history. As a result, you will own a portion of the union through a mutual trust bond with other members. Credit unions have therefore been described as economic democracies, meaning that each member has equal ownership and therefore a say in how the voluntary board operates the union. According to the United States Census Bureau, there were approximately 500,000 federal credit union members and 40,000 state credit union members in 2010. The number of members in each type of union has risen dramatically since 1990.

These two informational videos go into further detail about the benefits of being a credit union member:

My favorite part of this video is when Ms. Gibbons says that credit unions were not caught up in the 2008 subprime mortgage fiasco, thus credit union loan portfolios are now increasing rather than declining. I find it baffling that she says that 90 million citizens are credit union members—a number that conflicts with that of the U.S. census.

Mr. Lee makes me happy to hear that if I do not like the way my credit union is being operated then I am able to vote for new board members or even run as a board candidate. This gives me a feeling a great control over my deposits and how they are being used. I also appreciate how he outlines the importance of credit union customer service. He discusses how this can build healthy relationships, contributing to the social capital that Roseland stresses as a key component of effective community economic development.

Are any of you credit union members? Are they all they are cracked up to be? The only downside I can think of is that credit union ATMs are not widespread, making it difficult to avoid service charges from commercial bank ATMs when you are in another city.

Roseland states that most contemporary “community economic development initiatives focus on augmenting individual and community self-reliance through collaborative action, capacity-building and returning control of business enterprises, capital, labor and other resources from the global market to communities” (216). If that is the case, credit unions meet all three points of Roseland’s concept of community economic development. In the truest sense, credit unions epitomize local self-reliance and financial security. If you are considering switching banks anytime soon, it may be a good idea to find your local credit union and live more sustainably.

The Power of Traffic Calming

Automobile traffic dominates the built environment of our urban cities. It not only rules the road by means of infrastructure, but also with the weight and velocity of its many parts. With the infrastructure green light (pun!) and the freedom to careen at unmatchable speeds, the United States road is discriminating and an overall attack on non-motorize accessibility. Some may argue that the roads are made for cars, thus you do not witness the automobile infiltrating sidewalks or bike lanes. It is true that the road was primarily designed for the car, though carbon-neutral and more vulnerable modes must safely access them as well. The path of the automobile is pervasive and crosscutting, marginalizing all other forms of transportation such as walking, wheeling, and biking.

Traffic calming, which is “the process of slowing down traffic so that street environment is safer and more conducive to pedestrians, cyclists, shoppers, and residential life,” is mostly implemented through physical alteration of roadways (Newman and Kenworthy, as cited in Wheeler and Beatley). The notion of traffic calming is inherently at odds with many daily commuters. These calming measures can add to congestion and travel time for motorists. Although the measures seem like an attack on the personal automobile and other motorized vehicles, they are simply making the streets safer and more appropriate for non-motorists. This leveling of the playing field may further inconvenience for drivers, but it certainly enables the convenience of other modes.

In the name of accessibility, here are some of the ways that transportation planners are developing strategic designs to calm the incessant buzz of traffic in our communities:

Textured Pavement

Source: Construction Photography

Chicane (or S-Shaped Diverter)

Source: Richard Drdul, Flickr

Neck-Down (or Choker)

Source City of Richmond

Speed Bump (or Speed Hump)

Source: City of Lynnwood

Bulb-Out

Source: Calm Streets Boston

Other traffic calming tools and methods include adding bike lanes, narrowing the number of street lanes, and simple landscaping designs (e.g., planting trees on roadsides). The following video further describes common traffic calming measures:

According to Newman and Kenworthy, slowing traffic with the use of traffic calming mechanisms has many benefits: reduction in traffic accidents, better air quality, less noise pollution, increased sense of community, and decrease crime rates.

Unfortunately, traffic calming measures are not flawless. There are also a number of disadvantages associated with these structures. Traffic congestion and public outcry can result if the municipal governments that implement the measures do not effectively socially market the new barriers. Unaware drivers are likely to make illegal moves and endanger the lives pedestrians and cyclists (e.g., veering into bike lanes). The demand for personal automobile use will rise during the winter season and regular adverse conditions, and traffic calming measures can catalyze congestion. Also if the calming measures are not widely implemented traffic will simply be diverted to other roadways. Lastly, as discussed in class, emergency vehicles can be delayed due to measures such as speed bumps, endangering public safety. The following video touches upon that point:

Personally, I am a big fan of traffic calming. It makes drivers more aware and allows them to operate their vehicles at a safe speed. I do not believe, however, that traffic calming is a sole solution to accessibility. Traffic calming should be couple with other transportation measures such as 4-6 ft. wide sidewalks and efficient public transit.

In my neighborhood in Indianapolis, there was a controversial traffic calming scheme put into place on 62nd Street, a four-lane roadway going in and out of Broad Ripple Village. For those of you unfamiliar with Indianapolis, Broad Ripple Village is an area akin to Kirkwood Avenue, a cultural hub lined with bars, boutiques, and restaurants. Members of the public approached The Indianapolis Office of Sustainability to scale 62nd Street from a four-lane street to a two-lane street with the addition of two bike lanes, one on each side of the street. After months of construction, the street was narrowed and the bike lanes were complete. What you think would have been a celebratory moment for my neighborhood turned into communal backlash. According to Kristen Trovillion of The Office of Sustainability, the Department of Public Works received frequent complaints for weeks. Traffic was backed up for blocks. Drivers did not understand how to navigate the road without veering into the bike lanes. It was a mess. Eventually, the area learned to live with the lanes, but not without a struggle.

It is funny how sustainability measures can sound great on paper, but when implemented in communities, neighbors tend to backlash at the reality of the change. The reality is that the future of sustainability holds a world of sacrifice, and our readiness and willpower to change our habits is very important.

3-Point Plan for Sustainable Eating III

The third installation of my project update finds me patiently observing the effects of my compost, grappling with my self-imposed rain barrel budget, and sticking to the basics with my plant-based meals. Even though my personal project has momentarily taken the backseat to preparing for midterms, I continue to contribute a little time each week to making some progress.

Composting

My pile is at risk of being oversaturated with coffee grounds, filters, and tea bags. Those green materials have been stacking up rather quickly (mostly attributed to my studies), therefore autumn has arrived at the perfect time. I am in need of more brown materials to layer onto the pile. Composting has made me reflect much on how much food I eat and waste. As hard as I try, I have not been able to keep up with my spinach leaves and other green veggies. Many of them spoil before I can make a dent in my fridge stock. Though it is good for my compost pile, I have to reevaluate how much I buy at the grocery store or how much of my meals are incorporating fresh vegetables. I have an inkling I’m not very creative at incorporating vegetables into my lunches and dinners, and I cannot think outside the box (the frozen, process food box, that is). That leads me to my plant-based meals, which I will discuss shortly.

Here are the two very informative compost sources I have been using:

• Composting 101

• Home Composting Made Easy

Both lend helpful hints on how to get the most out of your pile. I consult them both when I am weary about my carbon to nitrogen ratio. For my first stab at it, I think I am doing okay, mixing the pile a couple times a week. In the future, it would be great to really pay attention to layers and incorporate worms.

Here are some photos of my progress (riveting, right?):

Rain Barrel

Oh rain barrel, how I wish to acquire you. My $20 budget was intended to be a challenge, and it has succeeded in doing so. Since I refuse to use PVC pipes, I have to resort to the more expensive metal tubing materials. The more robust materials and sealant are pricey, but I am optimistic that it can still be done! When I have asked around at the larger supermarkets for any extra or unused food barrels, they are either confused or do not have any. I have only reached out in passing, but intend to phone other types of establishments in the near future. I have a feeling that I’ll get luckily with some of the car washes around town. My $20 budget will not suffice without obtaining a barrel for no cost. To be continued…

Plant-Based Meals

Although this part of the project was aimed at cooking up some delicious cuisines, my time constrained diet and laziness have gotten the best of me. Lately, I have relied mainly on spinach salads (though I still can’t get through the entire bag before it goes bad, does this happen to any of you?) and bell peppers with hummus. No the hummus is not homemade! But I intend to improve this part of my project. Cereal for dinner must cease. Tonight I plan to prepare Fennel Mushrooms.
The recipe appeared on my Gmail ticker earlier this week and I have been thinking about it ever since. I will be sure to let you know how it tastes!

Lesser of Two Evils: Indianapolis Waste Incineration

Unless you pay for the services of The South Side Landfill,
the Harding Street Incinerator
is the only option for municipal solid waste removal for the city of Indianapolis. Also known as The Indianapolis Resource Recovery Facility, the incinerator is managed by Covanta Indianapolis, Inc. As one of the largest incinerators in the nation, the facility processes 2,175 tons of solid waste per day, which in turn produces 4,500 pounds of steam. Citizens Thermal Energy (CTE) purchases around 70 percent of the steam to power 40 percent of the downtown heating loop. The heating loop is made up of almost all of downtown Indy’s businesses and institutions, including IUPUI and Eli Lilly (Covanta Energy 2012).

It is understandable that Indianapolis-Marion County would support this form of waste management given its win-win, short-term benefits of ridding almost all citywide waste and ostensibly powering its urban center with “renewable energy.” Unfortunately, that steam energy is not renewable in the traditional sense. It might lessen the city’s dependence on fossil fuels to provide electricity to the downtown area, though incineration is accompanied by its own set of harmful emissions: carbon monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen dioxides, dioxin, and metal. Its operations even produce CO2 emissions. The copious amounts of ash residue that is produced by these facilities still end up in landfills. Incineration or the euphemized “recovery” of energy is a seemingly better choice than completely fostering landfills, but it is evil (to sustainability) nonetheless.

Indianapolis currently does not have a sustainable countywide waste management system for municipal solid waste. Residents who opt out of composting at home throw food scraps and other biodegradable matter into the garbage and is burned on the side of State Road 37. While the Office of Sustainability
only promotes non-mandated curbside recycling
and periodic toxic product drop-off services
and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)
lawfully prohibits throwing away yard waste, there is no municipal or state effort to promote the broader possibilities of composting.

Considering that waste management is largely a municipal function, could it be that a publicly sponsored composting effort would counter the interests of Covanta Indianapolis, Inc. and the entire downtown region? Or is the city just behind the times of sustainable waste management? It is likely that the city could fall under both categories given that general recycling is not publicly mandated. If Indianapolis-Marion County adopted a policy similar to Bloomington’s recycling ordinance
or Ann Arbor’s compost curbside pickup,
it would likely lessen the amount of waste needed to produce adequate electricity for downtown.

The video below gives a snapshot of how the facility operates and the supposed benefits of trash incineration:

Indianapolis is missing out on an opportunity to better the city’s air and natural environment by implementing some of the recycling and composting regulatory tools outlined by Roseland. Many European cities that previously depended on incinerators to manage waste have chose to instead invest in new recycling and composting facilities. Perhaps Indianapolis might someday find a window of opportunity to close the expensive incinerator and rather provide city sponsored curbside recycling and composting? Recycling has been proved to be three to six times more energy efficient than incineration (Girardet 1999). Composting makes use of what many regard as waste. Both of these efforts can narrow the cycle of production and consumption. The questions are whether the city is willing to make the decision, and whether an alliance of citizens is willing to demand it.

Lyle, John T. (1994). Waste as a Resource. Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development.

Girardet, Herbert. (1999). The Metabolism of Cities. Creating Sustainable Cities.

http://www.covantaenergy.com/facilities/facility-by-location/indianapolis/about.aspx

3-Point Plan for Sustainable Eating II

My sustainable eating voyage continues, slowly, but surely. I have made significant progress with composting and cooking plant-based meals. The rain barrel effort will see more action once I catch up with my other studies. Composting is the more passive and eating is inevitable, therefore in the following weeks you will see more updates concerning those aspects of the project.

Composting

Smelly compost. Emptying and cleaning the smaller container in my studio apartment sink has taken a toll on my nasal cavity, but that is my only complaint. Actually, I have so few fruit flies in my apartment because I keep my food scraps in the smaller airtight container. Today was the first day that I transferred those food scraps to the larger compost bin. I wrote “Compost: Do Not Move” on the top of the container and tucked it away in an inconspicuous location on the side of my building. Luckily, the stench will remain outside. The food scraps were mixed in with some moist dead leaves that will, hopefully, make for a rich soil when things begin to decompose.

Rain Barrel

The search for the rain barrel supplies continues, though I have not been actively searching. Since I am trying to build one without spending more than $20.00, I have started a list of local restaurants, grocery stores, and even carwashes that might have a bin that they are willing to let go. It will take some calling around town to find a sympathetic donor, but I am optimistic. I will begin calling next week. In the meantime, I have been watching instructional videos online. There are many but I will probably borrow ideas from the best of the bunch. The video below, for instance, is sponsored by Lowes and provides helpful suggestions. I refuse to use PVC pipe materials because of the harmful effects from the chemicals in the material. Does anyone know of any alternatives that are relatively inexpensive? I may resort to traditional metal pipes and materials.

Cooking Plant-Based Meals

Last week I made these Portobello and Zucchini Tacos
.My girlfriend introduced me to them and I have since made them twice. Although my food will not always be 100 percent locally grown and will include some packaging, I will try my best to use unpackaged fruits and veggies from BloomingFoods and the Farmers Market. I will resist the temptation to indulge at the larger supermarkets such as Kroger. My search continues for delicious recipes. Any suggestions?

Locals Only: Big Red Eats Green

It has been two weeks since I made my way over to the Indiana University Art Museum to grab some local chow at the Big Red Eats Green (and Bikes) Festival. My weekend starts on Thursday so I was looking forward to kicking it off right. As I approached the art museum lawn from the Union, I saw the many tents and booths and my stomach began to growl. The time was 2:15pm and I had not eaten breakfast. After briefly chatting with some fellow SPEONS at the entrance, I managed to stroll through the fair, peeking in the restaurant booths. I couldn’t believe that all participating restaurants used local ingredients. I have my doubts that the entire dishes were composed of Indiana ingredients, but the point is that they incorporated local food into their dishes, supporting local growers, and contributing to food security.

I thought it might be a good idea to first check out a familiar restaurant. It seemed appropriate to check out the Upland Brewery tent since love the food, but rarely eat there. I was willing to spend around $6.00 so that limited me to about 2-3 items. The Caprese Sandwich seemed like an excellent choice since it was only $1 and included roasted tomato focaccia, basil, and mozzarella cheese. It was delicious, though I was a little bummed they didn’t bring any beer growlers to sample!

As I turned to leave the Upland Booth, a gentleman with a piece of yarn in his hand accosted me. He asked, “Have you gotten one of these?” as he gave me a blue bracelet that displayed the words “I Ate Local.” I did indeed eat local, and I was now looking for the next restaurant to taste. I wanted to go to a place that I had never been before, but noticed Feast was selling their signature tamales for only $3.00. I’m a man that refuses to pass up a bargain so I seized the moment with great joy.

After delving into the delightful staples of Bloomington, it was time to try something new. I turned to the booths near the entrance, and to my surprise, Restaurant Tallent had made an appearance. I have never been to Restaurant Tallent given its reputation for its expensive entrees. I chatted with a fellow SPEA student while the gentlemen behind the table prepared a BBQ squash sandwich. The sandwich was superb and I washed it down with some iced cold watermelon limeade. When I finished I place my plastic dish and silverware in the available recycling bins. It will be a great day when recycling and compost bins out number trashcans.

Although I wanted to try samples from all of the other restaurants, I had exhausted my budget. It was time to check out what else the festival had to offer. I talked with the owner of Traderspoint Creamery about its award-winning yogurts. I sampled some low-fat vanilla. Historically, I have never been the biggest yogurt enthusiast, but it was so good I will buy some at one of its participating locations. Both the Sprouts and IU Campus gardens looked like great opportunities to grow my own food in the spring. The festival also introduced me to the Dunn Meadow Café, which I had heard about but did not realize that it too used local ingredients. In fact, I have been there twice in the past two weeks because it is relatively inexpensive and provides lighter alternatives to traditional RPS food. Plus it’s a short walk from SPEA! Overall, I really enjoyed myself Big Red Eats Green (and Bikes) Festival.

Similar to the weekly farmers market , Big Red Eats Green and other outdoor events provide an inclusive environment that bring about a sense of community. The aspects of sustainable communities that emphasize place and a sense of belonging are so important. I would like to contribute more to that feeling of community in the future through volunteering and my career.

For all interested in more local businesses,Local First Indiana is an awesome nonprofit that emphasizes local commerce and activities. Check it out!

3-Point Plan for Sustainable Eating

I have decided to combine three projects that I have wanted to pursue into one: start a compost pile, build a rain barrel, and mainly cook plant-based meals. This 3-point plan was devised because all three of these interests relate to gardening. It is my plan to start a small, probably container garden in the spring. These three project components will prepare me for my spring garden, but also to establish more sustainable eating habits.

Compost Pile

I just bought two containers for my compost pile. One is a small airtight container and the other is a larger plastic bin (made of 99% recycled plastic!). I have attempted compost piles in the past but I have never managed to create any fertile soil. Incorporating composting into my personal project will give me the extra motivation to maintain a useful pile. To start, I plan to gather browns (carbon materials) such as dead leaves and fruit waste as well as greens (nitrogen materials) such as plant and food waste in the next couple weeks. I live in a small apartment complex, therefore for the time being I will need to keep my compost in the large bin outside. I am hoping to find a location to use my compost, hopefully in a friend’s side-yard or an easily accessible community garden. If time allows, I will experiment with worm composting. My goals are to learn how to maintain a productive carbon to nitrogen ratio, eliminate waste (and fruit flies in my apartment), and produce rich soil for my spring garden.

Rain Barrel

The second part of my personal project is to build a rain barrel for under $20. Similar to composting, building a rain barrel has been on my to-do list since I heard about them. My fear of water shortage in the future is quite real; thus anyway I can cut back on personal water usage and waste helps curb that paranoia. My goal is to build one under $20 because I want to show you readers that you too can build one with very little money. I do not plan on using the rain barrel in the spring because I am certain that my building’s management would prohibit me altering their gutter drainpipe. Also I am sure they would not appreciate a damp mosquito den near the building. The rain barrel is more for my personal use when I one day live in a more permanent location with a larger garden.

Cooking Plant-Based Meals

This part of the project is intended to help me practice cooking with vegetables and fruits, specifically those that I plan to grow in my spring garden. I will cook a plant-based meal at least once a week. In the spring, I would like to garden onions, spinach, tomatoes, asparagus, and various peppers (e.g., bell, jalapenos, chocolate). Though easier said than done, I will probably start with only a handful of those listed. Since my garden will not begin until second semester, cooking with my own vegetables is out of the question. In the meantime, I will take full advantage of produce at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market and Bloomingfoods. Considering that I have been a pescatarian for almost three years, it is time to learn how to become a better cook.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. It will be a very busy, but productive semester.

Rezoning Our Communities: The Pursuit of Choice

Though the term is broad, I would like to one day pursue a career in community development or planning that aims to create an environment that capitalizes on community assets and brings neighbors together in a sustainable manner. Similar to what Roseland discusses in Toward Sustainable Communities, I too believe that the most effective and direct form of change happens at the local level. In light of that, I would like use my first assigned blog post to address a community policy subtopic that is currently at odds with sound sustainable development: Zoning Laws.

Regulation, one of Roseland’s four policy instruments in Chapter 3: Making Community Policy, is largely seen as a tool to protect third parties from negative externalities caused by private market process and transactions. Though this is an area that SPEAONS value highly, not all regulation is devised in the public’s best interest.

Current municipal zoning laws across the United States continue to impede sustainable community development. Most cities and suburbs still encourage the archaic Euclidean model that isolates zoning into three main categories—industrial, commercial, and residential. Although I understand the idea that no one wants to live next to a smokestack, it seems that mixed-residential and commercial use need to become more prominent in the thought of community development and planning for a sustainable future.

Traditional residential zoning in suburbia.

Jane Jacobs famously declared that “the destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building” (Whealer and Beatley 34). Indeed, current zoning laws coupled with insufficient public transit options give community members the green light (pun intended) to drive all over to run errands and settle out in the sprawling margins of town. Behavioral change will likely result from structural change.

I have first hand experience at trying to alter the zoning law in Indianapolis. Over the summer, I worked as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design- Neighborhood Design (LEED-ND) intern at the Mapleton-Fall Creek Community Development Corporation (MFCDC) (http://www.mfcdc.org). My fellow intern and I were pursuing LEED-ND Stage 1 certification for a section of the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood. Most of our responsibilities included documenting the project area’s compliance with prerequisites and credits.

The criteria for one credit included having a bus shelter in the project area. To do so, we decided to build a bus shelter for the neighborhood children on a MFCDC owned vacant lot located at the intersection of 31st and Park Avenue. Unfortunately, we could not simply hire an affordable design-build architect and call it a day. Because residential zoning laws in the area are so limited, we had to either apply for a variance or an enchroachment license to build in the greenspace of the public right-of-way.

Since our budget was exceptionally limited ($2,500) for the project, we decided to apply for an enchroachment license for $375. Purchasing a variance permit would have cost thousands of dollars in fees before taking building permits into consideration. Due to the enchroachment license purchase our budget became even more limited. The process was too costly and time consuming just to build a bus shelter on the organization’s private property. I cannot imagine the cost of varying from the zoning law for a substantially different project. It signaled to me that zoning laws could certainly benefit from some flexibility in purpose.

Zoning regulation directly addresses six of Roseland’s ten community objective topics: energy, climate, transportation, land-use, housing and community economic development (36). It seems like common sense that neighborhoods need mixed-use buildings and a diverse selection of nearby services. With the peak oil crisis and rising fuel prices, individuals are beginning to understand the necessity of institutions and shops that are in walking distance of their homes.

New urban village with mixed-use zoning laws

Zoning laws that encourage responsible land-use development and juxtaposes residential and commercial space also benefit from local economic development. This type of community development provides people of all income levels with different service options. If someone has access to a car to drive to Target or Wal-Mart then so be it; however, those that would prefer to walk to the corner store a block away should have that option. I lived a few doors down from the downtown Sahara Mart last year and I know for a fact that commercial businesses that are in walking distance of residential areas are incredibly popular. Zoning laws and codes that promote these alternative choices are easy on your wallet and the environment.

As you can see, zoning laws that isolate structures by purpose ultimately increase the human ecological footprint discussed by Wackernagel and Reese (1996). In “What Is An Ecological Footprint” the authors expose that “the ecosystems that actually support typical industrial regions lie invisibly far beyond their political or geographical boundaries” (295). Because our supportive ecosystems are so far away our irreversible carbon footprint continues to increase. Zoning laws that allow individuals to choose local goods and service providers without having to drive miles from store to store will greatly deplete a community’s ecological footprint. The idea is to locate residents closer to clusters of goods and service providers so that it makes more sense to walk or bike to them.

Rezoning our communities also lays the foundation for fighting public health concerns such as obesity and asthma. Someday sustainable communities will be synonymous with healthy communities. Policies such as Health By Design (http://www.healthbydesignonline.org) and Complete Streets (http://www.completestreets.org) are at the forefront of tackling the issues of community design and connectivity. Sustainable zoning laws are the perfect complement to such initiatives. In fact, the percentage of neighborhoods with both residential and commercial options within a community could be a possible urban sustainability benchmark. Surveying neighborhood residents of how often they use the local goods and service providers could be add some further empirical evidence of sustainability practices.

Dr. Richard Jackson discusses the importance of planning and zoning laws and their effects on community, public health and sustainable lifestyles in the PBS feature “Desigining Healthy Communities.” Here is a video of Dr. Jackson discussing the multifaceted issue that is zoning and community structure with SPEA’s own Tavis Smiley:

Watch Dr. Richard Jackson, UCLA School of Public Health on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley.

If you are interested in watching the “Designing Healthy Communities” DVD series, you can suggest that the Monroe County Library purchases it for its collection here: (http://mcpl.info/fiction/suggestion-purchase)

Growthmania and Stuff

As we discussed Herman Daly’s theory of “Growthmania” this morning, I couldn’t help but to think of George Carlin’s “Stuff” routine. During our discussion, Professor Brown mentioned the recent increase in number of storage units across the country as well the increase in size of family homes due to the amount of stuff people own. The link between materialism and growthmania could not be clearer. Our individual habits to buy the newest of the new and the best of the best really drive our growth addiction. So I thought I would share some of Mr. Carlin’s social commentary on the public's obsession with stuff!

Forewarning: this video contains language that may not be suitable for all audiences (duh, it’s George Carlin)…