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5 Unique Ways to Go Green if You're Living in a Dorm
I'm just amused that every time I'm quoted in a national newspaper, its for saying something that I have never in my life said. I definitely did not say "But if you want to get fancy, try organic hand towels and bamboo cutlery." I don't think I even said anything remotely resembling that. But, ah, well, the press. They do like to embellish.
At least we got featured! That's pretty exciting.
Ten Things Not to Buy in 2010
I think this list is kind of funny because I probably wouldn’t buy a single thing on it anyway, except maybe a newspaper subscription. I disagree that books are going out of style (send me your books! I’ll give them a good home), probably because I’ll never get a Kindle (my eyesight is bad enough without trying to read on yet another computer screen). I can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would buy new college textbooks anyway. And I definitely agree that buying CDs is pointless (when you can get them for free, and save waste in the process). Thumbs up to the no gas guzzling cars or energy inefficient appliances- but that’s another one that should have been a no-brainer.
I have another what not to buy list. In fact, call it a New Year’s challenge to rival the one to exercise more and lose that last ten pounds (except I encourage you to actually try and do this one). In fact, this one is even more of an imperative: it might actually make a difference.
1. Things from the grocery store
If you’re lucky, you live in an area with a farmer’s market and CSAs and co-ops. The marvelous thing about CSAs is that you don’t have to think about it at all- you just show up for your pickup and there is an array of fabulous delicious (local) produce for your selection! There are even meat CSAs and if you are in the right area fruit CSAs- all of which you pay for beforehand, in the winter- so you don’t even need your credit card when you go. The farmer’s market can supplement your purchases with things your CSA doesn’t offer- ranging from bread to pastries to jam to candles to produce to chicken to lamb to eggs and much more. Finally, for those products you can’t typically find at the farmer’s market, you can join a co-op to get (more or less) locally produced dry goods- I get flour and other baking necessities, as well as dry beans and rice, from my co-op. As long as I remember to put in my order each month, a wonderful friend of ours divides up the orders and gives everyone their bills. If you don’t know of a co-op in your area, start one up! It’s easy- it just requires a little extra time each month to put in orders and email everyone when its time to come pick them up. As a result, the only thing I buy at the grocery store is paper towels, and occasional random items like salt and lemon juice.
2. New Electronics
Seriously, why would you even bother to buy new electronics? Talk about a waste of resources. Check out this website for more on why: Last Year’s Model
3. Disposable Pads and Tampons
Many, many, reasons for this one, from the environmental to the personal. Check them out here: Green Girl Talk
4. Anything that comes in individually wrapped packages
And that includes granola bars- as well as candy, gum, tampons, crackers, snack products, and who knows what else. It’s pointless to individually wrap something when you can just buy a big version and save the waste. Besides, have you ever noticed that individually wrapped items are ALWAYS more expensive than bulk? Buy in bulk- save money, save time, save the waste!
I also want to include in this one bottled water. This is the biggest waste of resources known to consumerism, if you ask me. DRINK TAP WATER. If your tap water is not drinkable, bring it up with your city. Don’t spend all your money on bottles of water that are probably not much cleaner than your tap water, AND require ridiculous amounts of energy (and oil) to produce, as they are made out of oil, and the FDA does not allow bottles that contain food products to be made out of recycled plastic. So you can recycle all the water bottles in the world and STILL each new plastic bottle must be made from oil. Besides, even recycling uses ridiculous amounts of energy. Recycling plastic is not efficient.
5. Tissues
Handkerchiefs. I had to use a tissue again the other day, after having switched to handkerchiefs maybe… three years ago? And I got snot all over my hand. I was not pleased. Tissues are sad pathetic excuses for handkerchiefs. Believe me, your nose will thank you. I make mine out of old shirts, and just throw them in the wash when they get gross. They come out good as new!
6. Gag gifts/ Keepsakes/ Paper weights/ Things they sell at the Hallmark Store
I find these to be the most irritating things to receive from other people. They don’t DO anything. Apparently sales of them are high because there are entire stores devoted to these sorts of things. I go inside them every once in a while out of fascination: what is all this for? Why do we spend our hard earned money on things that have absolutely no purpose? Gag gifts can be funny, but it is more the concept that is funny, and after you’ve seen them once the laugh is over and that’s the end of it. Then what? Then it just sits around collecting dust and taking up space. Same with the objects people buy- I mean, one or two, sure, but seriously, some people have hundreds of these random little figurines and statuettes and who knows what else sitting around.
7. Soda
Do yourself a favor this year and give your system a break. It will thank you- as will the waterways that are poisoned every year by run off from the corn fields that go into the production of soda and other items made entirely of corn. You can find all about it elsewhere on this blog: here and here and here, to start.
8. Cleaning products, especially the nasty ones
You can clean with vinegar and baking soda. Really. There are tons of recipes out there for making your own cleaning products from very basic ingredients, and there are even more recipes for personal care products. Do some research, be a little creative and DIY, and spare our waterways from the nasty chemical runoff coming from our sinks and drains. No one needs fish kills and fish with both types of reproductive organs. If you must buy cleaning products, look for things that are biodegradable and contain the least number of toxic death chemicals possible. And buy in bulk.
9. Clothes
I once made a pact with my cousin not to buy any new clothing for a year. I used to have a serious addiction to buying clothing, especially shoes, and found myself spending an awful lot of money and time on the pursuit, and then not wearing half of what I bought. So I made a pact, and I broke the habit. Now I still almost never buy clothing, unless I really need something, and when I do I try and give away at least one item in my closet (to keep it even). I think in the last year I’ve bought: underwear, new snow boots, and leggings (which I wear every day). Definitely saves an awful lot of money, and reduces waste.
10. iPhones
This one is just because they annoy me. I know I already put “electronics” on the list, but I hold a special level of dislike in my heart for iPhones and Blackberries and the rest of them. When my dad is interrupting conversations to check his email on his Blackberry, and my friends are surreptitiously taking pictures of me and uploading them to facebook on their iPhones while we’re hanging out, I develop more and more reasons why the internet should just stay on the darn computer.
I spend my afternoons knee-deep in rotting fruits and vegetables. I’m quite friendly with maggots, worms, and other creepy-crawlies that you’ve probably never even heard of. I chase off swarms of flies reminiscent of the Amityville Horror. It’s not that bad; I’d even go so far as to say that I have fun doing it.
…No, really.
I’m half of Washington College’s formidable composting duo. Every weekday afternoon, Donna and I head out to Buildings and Grounds to work on the compost pile. When we get there, there are two or three trash cans waiting for us in front of the compost pile. The bins are filled with food waste from the dining hall. We drag them over and dump them on top of the heap. Then, we use our shovels to break the food into smaller pieces so it will decompose faster. Doing this also helps mix the new waste into the compost. When we’re finished, we cover the pile with dead leaves and woodchips and rinse out the trash cans.
I’ve heard that a lot of students on campus aren’t even aware of the composting program. I’m going to give you updates on our progress about once a week so you can stay informed about the environmental efforts on campus. But first of all, what is compost, and why is it important?
Compost, once it is complete, is an excellent natural fertilizer. It’s brown, crumbly, and doesn’t seem all that different from fertile soil. Compost is easy to make at home. It’s largely food waste, with dry materials, such as leaves, added to improve the chemical ratio. It needs moisture and air to decompose properly. All kinds of creatures find compost piles to be lovely places to live. If you were to dig into our pile here, you would find maggots, worms, and all kinds of other bugs that help decompose the food and make the compost more fertile. The process eventually concludes with mature compost- the familiar soil-like substance you might use to fertilize your houseplants.
But why compost in the first place? Why deal with all the rotting food and bugs? Is it really worth it? The answer is yes. First of all, compost saves space in landfills. America is quickly running out of space for landfills, and with the amount of trash we produce, this is a pretty serious problem. While food is biodegradable, landfills are terrible places for decomposition. The conditions aren’t survivable for all the friendly critters that live in a backyard compost pile. Oxygen can’t get to the trash that sits in landfills. The minimal decomposition that does take place in landfills actually creates explosive methane gas- something that is far more undesirable than a few maggots.
A compost pile has access to oxygen and water, making it an ideal environment for the bugs that aid in decomposition. Mature compost is nutrient-rich and chemically balanced, making it an excellent fertilizer. Some scientists even believe that the heat produced by a compost pile could even one day be used to heat homes!
While it is clear that a compost pile is far superior to a landfill, don’t just throw all trash into a compost pile. There are very specific guidelines about what belongs in a compost pile and what doesn’t. Of course, anything that is non-biodegradable is out. No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to turn a plastic bag into compost. Food waste and paper, however, make excellent additions to a compost pile. Avoid composting animal products, such as meat, eggs, and dairy, because they will attract rats and smell really bad. Also avoid things that have been treated with pesticides because they will harm the bugs in the compost pile, and eventually the plants that receive the compost as fertilizer.
Now that you know the basics of composting, you might be interested to learn more about the program here at Washington College. Check back for weekly progress updates!
Spontaneous Vegatation
This woman, relative of someone right here at the college (not me) is doing all the things I've ever wanted to do with my life. And in Chicago of all places. Just check it out, my heart is crying out with joy and longing to do the same things here in Chestertown.
THIS is what sustainability is all about, in my mind. Helping people live their lives without being major suckers of resources. Not spending millions of dollars on solar panels. Doing what you can with what you have already. THAT is saving resources.
According to Ideal Bite, a web site that posts daily tips for green living, Americans toss away nearly fifty million pounds of toothbrushes each year. Regardless of the accuracy of this statement, it couldn't hurt to curb consumption during our daily hygienic routines.
No, we’re completely serious.
You take survival skills- and by survival skills I mean actual, if civilization collapsed tomorrow I’d be able to get by survival skills, not how to get a job survival skills, because if civilization collapsed tomorrow that would get you nowhere- and you combine them with the quilting bee or knitting circle concept. Throw in some snacks, and you’ve got our group.
We (students and staff at the college) have started an informal group of people who are interested in learning more about primitive techniques for making stuff- from tools to rope to nets to dishes to food to clothes- whatever catches our interest. Relying on the knowledge of our members and whatever we can scrounge together- we are embarking on an adventure in learning how to survive the way others have for centuries (and more environmentally friendly, to boot). We'll probably spend half the time on campus and half out in the field, learning to collect and test out the things we make. A group for people who like the outdoors, extreme camping, and crafting.
And why, you say? Well, the reasons I’m sure vary- some people are just really interested in recreating Native American techniques (that would be the anthropologists of the bunch). Some people are hardcore campers and want to know how to get by if they’re stranded in the wilderness. Some people have watched too many episodes of Survivor Man.
And still others of us have taken a look around at our society and figured, hm, something’s not quite working here. You can spend a lot of time arguing the what and the why, but we’re choosing to spend our time studying how societies have worked in the past- and worked so well they’ve lasted for thousands of years, without completely destroying the environment on which they depend. They had to be doing something right. And we intend to recreate it, to the best of our modern, unskilled abilities.
If that’s not enough incentive, hanging out with a bunch of cool people, relaxing, keeping your hands busy, and eating cookies should do it for you.
We hope to see you in the new year. If you’re at the college and would like to be kept apprised of our activities, join our facebook group, Survival Crafters.
The other aspect of Chestertown life seems to be the startling lack of places to eat. While it may be true that there is no Indian food (a fact that constantly haunts me as I am overcome by waves of cravings for samosas and naan) or decent Asian (King Buffet really doesn’t count- though it is possible to drive to Middletown for OK sushi), it is also true that we are not in India. Or Asia. We are on the Eastern Shore, and there is plenty of quality Eastern Shore food to go around.
Unfortunately the best food is slightly out of reach for the average college student, which is why I (though no longer a student, still not rolling in disposable income) avidly look forward to visits from my parents when I can drag them out to all my favorite restaurants without footing the bill. Even if this is not an option, there are still ways to eat well in Chestertown, the most overlooked of these of course being cooking for yourself. If you want Indian or Asian (especially Thai or Chinese), these are surprisingly easy meals to prepare on a very, very small budget. I’ll post a few recipes soon enough.
In the meantime, a quick guide to the best places to eat in Chestertown. You will notice I place an emphasis on locally owned businesses, as well as those who support local farmers by serving seasonal and locally grown foods. The benefit here is that though there are very few restaurants, the menu constantly changes. It’s like a new place every time you visit.
Brooks Tavern (at Radcliffe Mill)
My all time favorite, Brooks Tavern features the previous owners of the Kennedyville Inn (my former favorite). The menu changes constantly, depending on what’s in season, which, right there, is enough to draw me in. The produce is local, the meat is mostly local, and the chef cooks according to what’s available (imagine!). I’ve never had anything I didn’t like. Though there appears to be nothing vegetarian on the menu, by simply asking you will be provided with the option of pasta or a vegetable plate, an ever changing surprise (and delight) that has forced me to try previously suspicious vegetables (such as brussel sprouts) and find, even more surprisingly, that I like them. It is, unfortunately, on the pricey side. But worth it for special occasions.
Brix (High Street)
A new restaurant featuring tapas and wines, this is another that is a little pricey but worth it for the right occasion. The portions are smaller than you would expect (even if you have had tapas before) but well worth it none the less- my mother and I made our way through three plates of veggie empanadas in one night, they were that good. There is also a wide variety of food, which, for me (a staunch vegetarian), is a rare novelty that never fails to have me bouncing in my seat with joy.
Andy’s (High Street)
You have to be 21 to enjoy Andy’s. But here you will find well priced food, a wide variety, and the thing guaranteed to make me give a restaurant five stars: a seasonal menu. Not only are there specialty drinks (if you haven’t had the spiced, spiked hot cider it is not really winter), but there are salads and wraps and quiches that change with the season. Again, local produce, local meat. Perfect place to stop in after work, sit at the bar, and chat with the locals. My personal favorite are the wraps (or the cheese fries, when it’s been a long day).
Sam’s (Cross, off High)
Now that Sam’s has FINALLY added a veggie sandwich to the menu, I will happily endorse what has long been my favorite place for smoothies, but not much else. Here is a place that is slightly more affordable for students, and the sandwiches are always fantastic (as is the tea selection). If you haven’t sat out back, especially in the summer, you’re missing out. It’s one of my favorite places in Chestertown.
I’m more or less a Baltimore native. We lived in a suburb, however, so my friends and I spent plenty of time whining and complaining about how there was nothing to do- a common activity among teenagers. Even when I lived in Savannah, Georgia, a city similar to Chestertown but about twelve times its size with at least that many more restaurants, bars, clubs, and things to do, we used to sit out on the street on many a Friday night complaining of the lack of options.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I moved to Chestertown that I found I was never without something to do.
I know, from having been a student here myself and from the students (and staff) that I still hang out with, that many (most, all) of the people at WC have at one point or another complained about there being nothing to do. And yes, it does sometimes seem as if on a Friday night the option is, sit at home watching movies, or go out and get trashed for the 27th time this month. However, I’d like to take a minute and be an advocate of making your own fun. Not only is this more green than driving to Annapolis, Dover, Philly or DC, but at the root of sustainability (in the opinions of myself and many others) is a love for the place you ARE. When you are invested in one place, and put down roots, and I don’t even mean a specific city so much as a general area, you find that you will do anything in your power to protect it. Think about it this way: Native Americans, even when they were nomadic, were absolutely dedicated to their land, and as a consequence, were much less likely to abuse it.
Plus, its much more fun. You’d be amazed and astounded to learn how many things there are to do in Chestertown, once you get over complaining about it and running away to a “city” every weekend. When I have visitors from out of town, I find I can never fit everything I want to show them into the amount of time my visitor is staying. I still haven’t even explored all of the nooks and crannies myself. It took me years to find a place I loved, but now I’m happier than I ever have been before. This place speaks to me. And I will defend it against all comers.
So, here’s a (brief) list of the things I usually do when I have visitors:
-Walk through town at night.
I absolutely love walking through town at night. It is so, so quiet, and so mysterious and beautiful. Especially the water, with all the ducks all asleep under the dock and the bridge all lit up. The fountain is also amazing (and kind of creepy) at night.
-Walk through town during the day.
A completely different experience. If you haven’t done it, wander through College Heights, and make sure you walk down Queen Street where it becomes Byford Court. Some of my favorite houses in Chestertown are there. The bottom of Queen Street (incidentally where I live) is one of my favorite spots: the houses all have steps down to the street, and this somehow reminds me of a fairy tale. Maybe I just have an overactive imagination. Or walk down Cross Street to Wilmer Park, and make sure to check out Stepne Manor across the street (horses!).
-Sit on the porch (preferably during a thunderstorm)
This is what my friends and I do during most of our spare time. It may sound boring, but this is what I mean by making your own fun. We always have the best, rambling conversations on the porch. Or we sit and watch the stars. Have you seen the number of stars visible over Chestertown?
-Check out the farmer’s market
Open every Saturday morning from March to November, the Farmer’s Market features everything from produce to fresh bread to preserves, homemade soaps, flowers, and crafts. I make a habit of walking to the Chestertown Natural Food store on Cannon first, getting an all natural ginger ale, and drinking it while doing my shopping (and usually munching on a muffin from Sam’s or a croissant from the bread guy).
-Go to First Friday
On the first Friday of every month, the shops downtown open their doors and provide free wine, food, and usually music, all available while you browse the work of local artists. If you aren’t 21, this is slightly less exciting, if you are, I don’t think any more needs to be said than “free wine.” Make sure to hit Antiques on Cannon and the Art’s League next door. My favorite part of this experience is running into so many people I know.
-Visit any of the multitude of events that happen every week
The college campus is packed with events. There are free movies, every weekend. There are free lectures, almost every night. The Students Events Board has been going crazy bringing comedians and musicians to campus. There are musicians at Andy’s and O’Connor’s almost every weekend. The Prince has a constant run of plays, music, and other entertainment. Plus, the town goes all out every few months for a packed weekend of events- this coming weekend is Downrigging, where you will find free films, a chance to board the tall ships (including the Amistad, the one they made the movie about), and fireworks, in addition to all the Halloween related events. chestertown.com for details.
I could go on. And on. And I probably will, in a later entry, but for now, take this as a starting point. Make your own fun!
On occasion, the thrift store gods smile down upon us, reminding us of their presence more than ever.
I should back up a little. My family has long been devoted to finding things in the most “thrifty” way possible- my mom and my uncle used to take me and my cousins out behind the strip malls dumpster diving for thrown away crafts supplies, picture frames, even cameras and film- anything we could find, really. We always make whatever we can ourselves, shunning the prospect of spending money on something unnecessarily. From my grandmother I also inherited the tendency to save everything compulsively, in case I might be able to use it later, resulting in the absurd number of boxes of bits and pieces, as I call them, filling my apartment workroom.
So when I found the perfect pair of shoes seven years ago I did not want to get rid of them. I am not one of those girls that really obsesses over shoes. I want a pair that I can beat to death, because I walk everywhere, and that matches the majority of my clothing so I don’t have to alternate shoes every day just so I match. I will admit an addiction to vintage heels, but when it comes to the shoes I wear on a daily basis I want one, maybe two options. This particular pair turned out to be so comfortable, and matched so much of my clothing, that I wore them every day until literally the bottom started falling out this past winter. The strap also came apart, and I fixed it back on with safety pins. I tried fixing the bottom of the shoe, with duct tape, with those plastic shoe things, with anything I could think of, but to no avail. I had to stop wearing the shoes on rainy days for fear of getting my toes wet.
This may all seem absurd to most people, who would say I should just go out and buy a new pair of shoes. And I did look for new ones, across two countries. I hate shopping in regular stores, but I suffered for the sake of finding shoes at least vaguely similar to mine. I even checked eBay. Alas. After months of searching, I finally gave up, resigned to only wear the shoes on sunny days. I considered having them fixed professionally, but considering the shoes originally cost me $10 at Payless I figured the shoe repair people would probably laugh at me for bringing them in.
And then- this past weekend- while scouring Goodwills for clothing for the upcoming MPC Photography Marathon (this Friday)- I happened to glance at the top of a rack, where Goodwill keeps the shoes, and what do I see, but my exact pair of shoes, except magically returned to their original condition, shining and in one piece. In my size.
I really couldn’t believe my luck. I hadn’t ever expected to find the shoes, ever again. The thrift store gods always provide, however. Just not always when you expect it.
My cousins and I have discovered this superstition, and liken it to the gods of prehistoric hunter-gatherer tribes. If you really need something, really need it, not just want it for some superficial reason, the gods will provide. You may have to patiently search, you may have to go a little out of your way, but with an open mind and the right attitude eventually everything you need will come your way- be it a new pair of shoes, the shelf you needed for those extra boxes of books, or even food. There is so much abundance in the world, that you will find when you aren’t trying to force it- when you aren’t demanding everything, right now, the way our society seems to encourage- the right things will eventually find you.
Advice we can apply to the rest of our lives as well. When it comes to the environment, things tend to work on their own, without intervention- the planet has had millennia to experiment and get things just right. If we’re willing to work within that system, and maybe accept that having oranges in a climate like Maryland’s in winter maybe just doesn’t make sense (and value them in summer all the more), the land will provide. The only rules: don’t take more than you need, and give back more than you take. I always make sure to donate two or three things to a thrift store for every item I find.
If you want to try your own luck with the thrift store gods, you can get started right here in Chestertown with our three lovely thrift stores:
Hidden Treasures
711 Washington Avenue
Phone: (410) 778-1219
Web: www.kentcenter.org
Hours: Mon. - Thurs. & Sat. 9:00am - 4:00pm Fri. 9:00am-5:00pm
The Nearly New Shop
320 High Street
Phone: (410) 778-1781
Web: www.chesterriverhealth.org
Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10:00am - 4:00pm
The WIN Thrift Store
106 Philosopher's Terrace
Phone: (410) 778-5999
Web: www.win-foundation.org
Hours: Thurs. & Fri. 10:00am - 6:00pm Sat. 10:00am - 4:00pm
A lot of mainstream journalists seem to enjoy lamenting how painfully difficult it is to go green, and try to tell activists to stop nagging if they want to get their point across. A recent Baltimore Sun article, in fact, made a great point about how the writer’s grandmother was effortlessly environmentally friendly, by virtue of being a low income immigrant in the early half of the century, but then failed to realize the implications of this and chose instead to spend her article whining about how annoying it is when you take a Starbucks cup home to recycle and it spills in your car.
Well boohoo.
My grandmother always reused foil and paper napkins and compulsively hoarded spare buttons and brushes and bits of things until the family began to wonder if there wasn’t something a bit wrong with her head. I, on the other hand, eventually came to the realization that this was the natural product of being the child of Polish immigrants raised during the Depression and World War II- of course you wouldn’t throw away a napkin, when you might be able to use it again.
The authors of these articles are right in pointing out that going green on an individual level shouldn’t be about the numeric value of your carbon footprint. You won’t get anywhere if you’re beating yourself up over every last lumen of light. It’s more about an attitude. If you’ve adjusted your thought to believe that it simply doesn’t make sense to throw things away (particularly if you are a penny pinching pack rat like me), suddenly it doesn’t seem like a big effort to use cloth napkins. Saves me trips to the grocery store, for one. And a more appropriate response to the annoyance of spilling leftover coffee in an effort to recycle would be, rather than whining about the mess, to ask why she was going to Starbucks and getting a plastic cup in the first place.
This may sound strange and masochistic to many people. Imagine! The pain and suffering that may be caused by not going to Starbucks. Or, imagine instead, the ease of taking your own mug (which is much more sturdy anyway). Or instead of taking your coffee with you, spending a half hour in the coffee shop drinking your coffee out of a mug and reading a good book. Heaven forbid!
I have no patience for people who tell me it’s so hard to be green. If you think about it, it’s much harder NOT to be green. It’s expensive. The food isn’t very good. You have to go to the store all the time. You have lots of trash to deal with (I take out the trash once every two weeks, and it’s a tiny bag). There’s a lot of driving involved… I could go on. Or, you could live in a way that makes sense. I make my own yogurt because I don’t like additives and single use, individual serving containers, and it’s easy (took me ten minutes this morning) and delicious. And cheap. I make my own pasta sauce, which is slightly more labor intensive, but the joy I get out of the happy, sated smiles on my friends’ faces when I bring them jars of sauce is more than worth the effort. Plus, I freeze it and eat it all winter, so I don’t have to cook for months at a time. I also only use handkerchiefs. My great grandmother made them and I still have them, and not only are they softer on my nose, but I don’t buy tissues, I don’t have enormous amounts of trash, and every time I use them I think of her.
And when I think of her, and my grandmother, I think, how would they have done this? And rather than whining in a major newspaper about how reduce-reuse-recycle was so much easier for them because they lived through the Depression (still working out the logic on that one), I just do it. And I have to admit, it’s pretty easy.
From the article “Don’t be Wasted on Grass! Lawns to Gardens!” by Heather Coburn, http://www.foodnotlawns.com/lawns_to_gardens.html
“French aristocrats popularized the idea of the green grassy lawn in the eighteenth century, when they planted the agricultural fields around their estates to grass, to send the message that they had more land than they needed and could therefore afford to waste some. Meanwhile, French peasants starved for lack of available ground, and the resulting frustration might have had something to do with the French Revolution in 1789.”
Other fun facts:
- Today, 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain over 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same size plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation, plus produce all of the vegetables needed to feed a family of six.
- The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week—enough to water 81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long.
- Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland.
- The pollution emitted from a power mower in just one hour is equal to the amount from a car being driven 350 miles. In fact, lawns use more equipment, labor, fuel, and agricultural toxins than industrial farming, making lawns the largest agricultural sector in the United States.
This little website (and the book that accompanies it) plays on the Food Not Bombs idea and takes it a step further. Rather than growing grass for lawns (still not totally sure what those are for), and wasting all that time mowing the grass (because who really enjoys that, anyway?), we could use the lawn for something particularly useful. Such as… food. It’s a novel concept, but it shouldn’t be. In fact, it’s alarmingly obvious.
See earlier post on food crisis.
Now, taking out lawns and replacing them with beautiful, productive vegetable gardens not only makes more sense, but appears to be better for the environment, and better for the local economy (ie not buying our food from California) and educational and much more attractive. And less time intensive, depending on what kind of food plants you put in! You could have a yard full of fruit trees, and a beautiful shady place to relax, and more peaches than you know what to do with. All we have to do is abandon the mindset that a lush, green, chemically treated lawn somehow puts you in a higher income bracket in the perception of your neighbors.
Imagine the possibilities…
Oh, my. Jimmy's Deposit Box: Take note.
Apparently the first ever eco-conscious club has opened in Britain. Apparently, by getting their groove on, visitors to the club will help generate electricity by means of spring powered coils in the floor. The club will also serve organic spirits and feature a recycled water system.
Now this is what I call green drinks.
I also have to say its one of the more innovative methods I've heard for alternative energy. I've long said we should hook the stationary bikes in the LFC up to some kind of energy producing system- with all the athletic teams in there burning calories, we should really be putting that energy right back into powering the building. While a night club might be a stretch for WC, and possibly for Chestertown, there must be other ways we can think outside the box. Maybe something to look into for Birthday Ball? Can that be our theme next year??? According to the owner of the club, "There is no greater platform than clubbing to reach out to young people." What WC is lacking, then, is a good rave.
If nothing else, our local bars could get further onto the eco-bandwagon by serving a higher percentage of local beers and wines, and organic spirits. To my knowledge, Andy's is in the lead, serving seasonal vegetables, local seafood, and hormone-free beef, as well as having a wide selection of Maryland region beers. Andy's is also your spot for Chestertown Green Drinks, the third Thursday of every month from September to May. You can find our schedule here. Just follow the links until you find Chestertown (US: Maryland: Chestertown).
You can find out more about the technology side here. You can also read a lot of... creative... suggestions for sustainability in the comments, including self-powered glow sticks. I'm not so sure glow sticks are something we need to keep around, as the goo that keeps them lit up is pretty toxic... but dream big, econauts, dream big.
And look out for upcoming lines of "green" club wear. Talk about getting your green on.
One more thing: the website for the club itself: www.club4climate.com. This is actually a little absurd, and kind of misses the point. But more on that later.
I get one of those daily “tips for going green” emails, I won’t say which, and I have to say I find them a little- well- biased. Some of the tips are interesting and informative- I found a really effective homeopathic nasal spray that puts a stop to my worst allergy symptoms- but others make me scratch my head and wonder if some people aren’t just “going green” to satisfy their shopping addictions.
Yesterday, for example, I received an email encouraging the purchase of organic cotton denim- a great idea, in theory, until I scrolled down and the list of recommended products ranged from $40 to $350 for a pair of jeans. Now, maybe some people regularly spend this much money on their pants, but not I. And really, when you think about it, what’s so sustainable about buying new pairs of jeans, organic or not? To make them, someone still had to grow the cotton, ship it to a factory, turn it into denim, dye it, ship it to another factory, assemble the jeans, use all kinds of metal bits (which had to be mined) for the rivets and the zipper (made in another factory), and finally ship the jeans to a store, where you had to drive- unless of course you ordered online, in which case they had to be shipped to you- either method of which involves packaging in the form of tags, plastic bags, and shipping materials.
Whew.
On the other hand, if you’re really in need of “green” jeans, you could head on down to the local thrift store. The jeans may not be brand-spanking new- no pun intended- but I guarantee they won’t cost $40. They may not even cost $10. And (best of all) you skip that lengthy process of producing the new pair, often support good causes, and keep perfectly good clothing from hitting the trash. Remember the four R’s- reduce, REUSE, recycle, renew. Producing with fewer chemicals is a good plan when it comes to the things you want to buy new- probably your underwear- but otherwise doesn’t do much to stop the massive over consumption of resources and fossil fuels that presents the biggest hurdle to sustainability. And it doesn’t start with R.
So where to begin? In Chestertown, you have two basic options:
Nearly New, on High Street (I found my favorite pair of cherry red heels there)
WIN (Women in Need), next to the Dollar General on Philosopher’s Terrace (which also donates proceeds to, you guessed it, women in need)
Either will provide quality, lightly loved clothing, housewares, furniture, and most anything else you can imagine, at a low, low price. Now that’s sustainable.
Check out the new video from OIT's Brian Palmer:
Driving Greener - Watch a funny movie here
In it he tracks his progress as he strives to green his commute, from tune-ups to driver attitude. Learn how to green your own driving, save money at the pump, and increase the life span of your vehicle!
While some are ostentatious about their shade of emerald, others are going green as a matter of course. “Being green is not my primary goal,” says OIT Systems Admin Ted Knab. Yet on select sunny days, you can find him pedaling his bike to campus- from Centreville. He rides 35 miles two days a week, mostly for the exercise and the pleasure of riding a bike through the green fields of the Eastern Shore. The rest of the week he drives to work, as do many faculty and staff who find they can’t live in Chestertown.
Yet by cutting his drive down on two days of the week, Ted reduces his weekly driving from 350 to 280 miles- for a carbon dioxide savings yearly of nearly 4000 pounds! While he rides his bike mostly for exercise, burning about 1000 calories each way, he’s also saving about ½ to ¾ gallon of gas, which adds up 2-3 gallons less per week. This is a great example of how going green doesn’t have to be something outside your daily routine. Even small activities you probably already do can make a big difference!
At home, Ted has also improved his insulation and installed more efficient lighting- and has noticed the savings on his energy bills. A desire to save the environment does not have to be the primary reason for going green, though it certainly doesn’t hurt. For most people it probably won’t be. But one of the things we like to point out is that activities like riding a bike to work and improving the insulation in your house make sense. Bike riding is great exercise, gets you outside and into the fresh air, and gives you a better appreciation for the outdoors and the environment- in addition to using renewable human power instead of relying on fossil fuels, and keeping harmful carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
There’s always more than one reason to go green- so kudos goes to whoever carries the banner, no matter the reason!
We're down to the wire with George Goes Green- three more days! Some students are going that extra mile to make it down the home stretch. Check out this creative arrangement of clothing for drying- perfect for the room without space for a drying rack. Extra kudos for using the flamingo to dry clothes. Sent in by Brittany Dunbar in Minta Martin.
Count on the girls of Minta to make recycling more attractive. First Floor RA Lindsay Koenig decided it was time to take action and increase the amount of recycling on her hall. In her own words:
"I thought maybe it was because people would throw away their bottles and cans along with the rest of their trash in their personal trash cans, and then not feel like sorting out the recyclables when they went to empty their trash into the large trash bins in the hallway.
So I counted the recyclables that went out last week- there were 68. Then I provided each of the rooms on my hall with a small trash can specifically for their recyclables, so they could be sorted out as they were used. In addition, I posted a few signs to remind everyone to recycle. I just counted the recyclables for this week, and there were 140- we more than doubled our recycling rate."
Check out the bulletin board Lindsay made to educate her residents (Buildings & Grounds, maybe you should take note):
You might think going through the trash is a little unusual, but for Dr. Jeff Brown, professor of biology, it’s all part of a day’s work. “If you point out to a student that they’ve thrown away a plastic bottle, when there’s a recycling bin right there, they’ll apologize, but they won’t get the bottle back out,” he tells me, on a break from collecting the recycling before it goes out one Friday morning. “But I will,” he adds.
Anyone who has ever struggled to get a recycling program off the ground knows that sometimes it takes extremes like pulling plastic bottles out of the trash to set an example and get people thinking about recycling. “Fundamentally most people think it’s a reasonable thing to do,” Dr. Brown explains, “the economics make sense.” But that doesn’t mean everyone is automatically on board. “It has to be convenient,” he points out. Decisions such as the placement of recycling bins, as well as the design, color, and labeling all factor into the likelihood of student and faculty participation.
Washington College’s current recycling program depends on the initiative of building occupants to take recycling to the curb for Kent County to pick up on Tuesdays and Fridays. Only the Shred-It bins are picked up by the company. While this works reasonably well for most of the dorms, it is more difficult in academic buildings unless a particular staff member takes the responsibility of going from hall to hall collecting recyclables. In Toll, where faculty have taken an active role in getting the job done, they recycle several tons of cardboard each year, in addition to having more green bins out on the curb than any other academic building. 
The success of the recycling program in Toll is largely due to Dr. Brown’s own efforts. Every week he can be found bringing recycling down to the curb with the help of a cart purchased specifically for the purpose. Faculty and staff in the building are also on board, collecting recycling under their desks and breaking down boxes. Tri Beta, the biology honor society, contributes by taking turns collecting recycling in the building. Institutional support is slow in coming, but Dr. Brown is confident it will happen in the near future. Recycling is not an insurmountable challenge, if approached properly. If it were written into further building plans to allow for recycling areas and uniform bins, with consideration given to the materials recycled in Kent County, many issues would be solved at the outset.
Dr. Brown’s advice to students on getting involved is to take action locally. “People don’t think individual actions are significant, but multiply those and it does make a huge impact. Recycling is something everyone can participate in,” he says, as are actions like turning out lights and not using water. In his own office, a file cabinet and his official robes block the path to the light switch. If it’s harder to get to, he knows he will be much more likely to think twice before turning on the light. Most actions, including recycling, are largely a matter of changing habits to reflect more responsible practices.
You, too, can make a significant difference to help the environment. All it takes is a little creativity, and a healthy dose of dedication- because as Dr. Brown has proved in Toll, every little bit helps.
Learn more about recycling at WC.
Did you know idling your car creates twice the emissions of a car in motion? Something about holding still. I've been told that starting your car up uses about as much gas as you use by idling for just one minute- 60 seconds- so really it doesn't make much sense to keep the car running, using up gas and emitting carbon dioxide.
Some interesting facts:
Idling 15 min per weekday can cost you up to $100 in wasted gas over the course of a year. American drivers use more than 2 bil gal of fuel each year while idling.
Crazy! Now turn that car off!
So what’s the deal with G3, anyway?
George Goes Green started in Spring 2006, though Washington College students had been pushing the college to go green for years and years. However, at that time, it became official. If George Goes Green, you can bet the rest of the college will catch on.
So is this a mysterious conspiracy of the administration to save money on electric bills? No, not really. It doesn’t hurt the cause, but G3 was, and is, primarily student driven. It’s all about students getting involved and, George forbid, learning something in the process.
“Like what?” you may be asking. Well, believe it or not, you won’t be living in a dorm forever. One day you will be out on your own, in a nice little apartment with a TV and a fridge and lamps and all the rest, and one day, after you’ve moved in and hooked up your cable, you will get your first electric bill. Wherever you live, I can guarantee one thing: It won’t be pretty. Especially if you are unfortunate enough to have outdated heating or are running the AC nonstop. And you know what you will wish you had learned in college, right at that moment?
How to save energy.
That’s only part of what G3 is about, of course- most people are smart enough to quickly figure out how to turn down their thermostat after that first bill. G3 is also trying to teach how to think about these things, from a broader perspective. How do your every day activities effect others? How do they effect the environment? What actually happens when you flip a lightswitch?
These things may not seem important now, but believe it or not, we live in a world where in the very near future there will simply be no way around these issues. Our current sources of power won’t last forever, and when they run out, it’s go green or bust. Businesses and organizations all over the world are catching on, and with any luck, one day we won’t talk about going green. We’ll already be there. But until then, students need to be prepared with the knowledge to deal with things like sustainability, energy conservation, recycling and reusing- in all fields. On April 25, WC will host a panel of diverse speakers, from all ends of the spectrum, from a German banker to a Maine lobsterman. They will all speak on how, like it or not, they found themselves needing to understand a key concept in their jobs: going green. Our goal at the Center for Environment & Society is to impart these skills to students so they find themselves in advance of the workforce, already prepared with the knowledge to push us forward into a green future. And to have a little fun in the process.
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