Berry Speaks

He speaks                                                     
Time slows
Remembering a different pace
Less frenetic
Like a breeze through winter wheat
The stream
that carved these hills
The vining pumpkins
that grew last summer
Moving through this form
and others
Threading us together
in our work.

Green (or Brown) Architecture

   Several years ago two undergraduate students from SPEA , Nathan Harmon and Paul Nord, built a cob house on my friend's property.  It was a huge undertaking of labor, requiring the incessant effort on their part, my friend and her neighbors, and many other volunteers.  I had the pleasure of spending several days working on the house as well.
  Originally they were going to build a bath house, but my friend's trailer burned down before they began.  She has three children, whose father died when the youngest was just three months old.  They had to live in a bus for almost two years before the house was finished.

  The plastic on the side is covering a large opening where a kitchen is planned to be built.  Large eaves and awnings surround the structure to keep water off of it. The blue dots are glass orbs they embedded in the cob.
  The cob is made of clay, sand, and straw which are similar to many building materials we use in conventional houses.  The straw creates a fiber that interlocks and holds the clay together, much like the polymers you find in dry wall and joint compound. The clay and sand harden to the consistency of concrete.  The clay came from the grading of the foundation, from right underneath where the house now sits.
    The walls are at least 12 inches thick.  I think of them as a great heat sink that, once warm, can contain and radiate heat for a long time.  Of course the house would be warmer if they had all of the windows they need and the kitchen finished.  Another great attribute of cob construction is that the house doesn't have to be shaped like a crackerjack box.

   Since not everyone is ready to live like a hippie here is an example of a more stylish home made from cob.  Cob construction was very popular, even in wet climates like Ireland and Britain, up until 70 years ago. However it is making a comeback, especially for those of us interested in sustainability.

  The imagination is the limit on the designs people can come up with for these structures.  I just wish this layout would let me put pictures side by side.

Frito-Lay sends noisy, 'green' SunChips bag to the dump

  This  current event perfectly aligns with this week's topics in waste management and the economics of sustainability.
Sun Chips is doing quite a bit towards promoting sustainability. Check out their website to learn about their photovoltaic system and compostable bags.  http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml

However their sales are down 11 % this year because of the compostable bag and so they are pulling the majority of these bags off of the shelf.  Here is an instance where the "consumer muscle" enforced a change on a manufacturer, but in the wrong direction.  I think part of the problem may be that most people who care about waste management do not eat a lot of processed snack food.

Majora Carter and Social Equity

   Majora Carter's presentation was inspiring.  Her ability to mobilize the community of South Bronx to create a greener urban environment where there had been no green previously is monumental.  Through much hard work, dubbed "sweat equity', she was able to channel community labor and federal/state funds into the clean-up of the illegal dump and restoration of the riverfront along the Bronx River.

    Ultimately Majora is driven to create social equity.  People living in urban poverty are mired in so many feedback loops that it is near impossible for them to find their way out.  They end up shouldering the burden of environmental deficits as cities hoist pollution and sewage onto their communities.  The pollution has proven affects on the mental abilities of the youth who are already struggling with below average schools.  In addition these urban communities are concrete wastelands, which is also proven to affect the mental health of the occupants.  Unemployment in South Bronx was 25%, and many people made money from sales of illicit substances.  

    Perhaps the largest component of the success of Majora's work is the creation of training programs and green jobs for the residents of South Bronx.  She is well aware of the environmental and economic benefits in sustainable management, such as rain water management through installation of green roofs.  However it is her emphasis on the social benefits of bringing green jobs to disenfranchised individuals and ending prison recidivism that was truly compelling.

     Oddly, this was the part of the presentation that the business-school- fraternity boys had the most disagreement with.  It was clear from the start that such students had been baited to attend with the promise of extra credit and they had no respect for the work of such an inspired genius.  It offered a certain degree of perspective.  From the group of eight boys sitting in front of me one got up to ask the first question of the discussion session.  His first question centered on the possible displacement of poor individuals, thus increasing homelessness, through these green neighborhood improvements.  Majora assured him this wasn't occurring and that people were better off through increased employment.  His final question asked 'is it the tax-payers responsibility to help create jobs?'  Somehow he overlooked everything she said about the cost savings for keeping people out of prison and utilizing more efficient sustainable practices.  This taught me more than anything that bottom-dollar- minded people only use poor people to further their own gains when convenient, but they will not support agendas that truly benefit our poor even when those benefits are transferred to the whole society.

     I watched the boy's reactions to Majora's answers to other questions.  I had to ask myself "how did these young boys come to believe that they know so much more about how the world works when they obviously live in a minority of white privilege and wealth?"  Where does this severe, close minded, resistance to sustainability come from?

Top 6 Ways to Conserve Water

For those of us in the Midwest of the United States or in Canada water seems so abundant it is hard to remember why this resource needs conserving.  Many cities are seeking to expand their water supply which automatically translates into higher costs for consumers.  Additionally, pumping water to and from structures requires energy which we know is not getting any cheaper.

  BASIC CONSERVATION:

1. Faucet aerators:  chances are that you already have one,
 but if your water comes out of the faucet in one solid  stream then you could acquire one of these to reduce your water usage.

2.  Low- flush toilets: Look like any other toilet so I'll spare you the picture, but they use 1.6 gallons instead of the 3.5 gallons used since the 1980's.

3.  Sonar - leak detection units:  water gurgles, hisses,or thumps as it leaks and these instruments can pick up the vibration.

ADVANCED CONSERVATION

A.  USING NATURE'S BOUNTY
   4.  RAIN BARRELS-  a simple method for getting the gardens watered between summer storms.  Could be used for many purposes in a pinch.

5.  Swales vs. Culverts:  gently sloping depressions that permit water to absorb into the soil instead of overflowing into streets or rushing it out to the local gully/river.

B.  RECYCLE and REUSE
   6.  GREYWATER RECYCLING:  Water from sinks, showers, and laundry can be reused (with minimal attention paid to detergents and soaps entering the soil) to water gardens and trees.

Greening Bloomington

  This week's readings have exposed me to what a multi-pronged approach city greening is for addressing many sustainability issues.  When the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability mentioned they were considering planting shade trees as an energy conserving strategy I thought it was rather lame.  Of course I am completely grateful for the ginormous poplar tree on the southside of my house.  It offers shade in the summer and in the winter when its leaves are down it does not obstruct much sunlight.  This is a great strategy for diminishing cooling needs in the summer.
  Bloomington has many other city greening projects that I am probably unaware of.  One I like is the planting of native species along the creek in Bryan Park.  This has created a wonderful habitat for local fauna.  Bloomington also has a great farmer's market as well as many thriving CSA (community supported agriculture) options.  Occasionally I meet people who are worried about the messy appearance of a vegetable garden in their yard.  I tell them; this is Bloomington, the person with the biggest garden wins.
     I think I will visit other classmates' blogs to see what is happening with water stewardship.  I do know that Bloomington has had its share of water pollution from PCB's and toxic coal ash dumps.  For more information go to:
bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=3001
bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=3013