One of the many coal trains that runs adjacent to campus. This weekend I went under the underpass when a full train ran south and an empty train went north. Next stop Powder River Basin, WY.

Getting muddy! Reconnecting over the weekend. 

A beautiful trip to the CC cabin. 

Sunrise in the mountains. Here's to new beginnings in environmental ethics!

Final Post: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Waste Transform My Perception of Impact?

Note: For information on the background and process of the experiment, please see below. At the beginning of the project, I outlined some questions to consider throughout the experiment, in order to help me gauge the changes in my perception of impact, as well as other concerns about waste and compost. With this final post, I have a few updates on the nuts and bolts questions near the beginning but more reflection on the latter questions, so I will focus my attention there. 

-Is the level of waste surprising?

We have maintained our one quart level, although some days are higher and some days are lower. I'm glad we chose a clear and open container for the compost, because we can always see how much compost we are creating, and I think trash is more removed in an insulated, not very smelly, metal compost container like many people have. Our entire contents were around 35 pounds, but some of that was from other groups so an estimate for just the south kitchen's food would have a ridiculously large margin of error. 

-Are the types of waste, or ratios of certain types we produce, surprising? And how it is working?

Even though I have learned quite a bit about ideal ratios, I will have to wait longer to truly experiment and see the effects on the compost as it warms up, thaws and decomposes. One interesting answer to this question I have just realized this week is that because we have a clear compost container, you can see the food we eat cycling through the kitchen. There are two factors that make this more interesting. First, at the grocery store, we often experiment in our purchases, buying new items we haven't purchased before. Secondly, we always eat through everything we have in the kitchen before shopping again. You can track both of these things by what ends up in the compost bin over the course of the block. We currently have banana peels overflowing the bowl in the last week (since we went to the grocery store), but we didn't have a single banana peel in there for weeks previously, since we hadn't purchased bananas in the previous shopping trip. Egg shells are a good predictor of how long it has been since we shopped because while we shop every two weeks or so, we often eat through the eggs in the first week and run out for the second week. When something disappears from your shelf, you don't always remember it's gone, but when it sits on your counter rotting, you usually do. Therefore, composting has been a great way for me to be reminded of how my eating habits change depending on where in the grocery store cycle we are, and begs the question: should we be shopping more often?

-When composting, do I find that I am compelled to deposit more, less, or the same amount of food waste?

Over the past weeks, I've been surprised at how I've been more disciplined about composting almost all food waste. When I went to the cabin this weekend with an energy club on campus, I was the voice calling for us to use as much as possible of the tomatoes and onions before tossing them in the trash (which I composted in our tree when we got home). I can comfortably say that in conclusion to this question, I was compelled to waste less food during this experiment. It remains to be seen if that continues after the project ends. 

-Do the advantages of composting outweigh its disadvantages?

Yes. My disadvantages have been extremely low. You could say that asking for people's food waste is socially disadvantageous in certain situations, but at CC that is hardly true very often. The project cost me zero dollars and very little time, because it didn't take very long to construct and I have to take out the trash no matter what container I'm putting it in. On the advantages side, the rest of the questions should speak for themselves, I don't need to summarize everything here. 

-Does composting make me re-evaluate other environmental commitments I have made, or ones that I might make in the future?

Yes. In fact, I have begun a new challenge. I will not buy a new item unless it is food or beverage. All other goods and services must be used, lost, fixed up, or otherwise non-new. I'm very excited about this challenge because I've never thought about it before but I think it can be a way to further remove myself from consumerism, and tie myself closer to the community, and all the goods it has to offer. There are a few places I am particularly worried about, where I'll have to be very creative or make a sacrifice. Deodorant and other hygiene items: I think I can barrow these from other roommates, and find half used shampoo containers around the house, but this isn't a very sustainable plan. Gas: I really love to ski and go into the mountains, I don't travel in a car very often at all in Colorado Springs, but when I leave the city, chances are it's by the means of a gas powered engine. I will continue through Lent and then re-evaluate, here we go!

To follow up on a few points from last week's post:

-Manual Labor: Therapy or Domination, or Lost Art? I had a new idea about physical labor when working for Horst Richardson this week. Because I use manual labor so infrequently in my life, when I was pounding and shoveling in Horst's back yard, I realized that so many people in the developed world today do so little manual labor. Not only does this put us at higher risk for obesity, but I also think it disconnects us from our bodies--and from nature. While other forms of physical exertion can also reduce our risk of disease and connect our bodies and minds to our surroundings, I think difficult physical labor is a unifier across the course of human history. Reading about hunters chasing animals for days and days, or women walking 1,500 miles a day in today's reading "Chapter One: The Old Way" I guesstimate that 99% of all humans that have ever lived have worked more manual labor than I do today. That is a strange phenomenon! What are its effects? Finally, this made Agyeman's focused on intergeneration connection particularly salient because you should be cognizant of future generations, but past ones as well. 

-It is still true that the most significant re-evaluation is my meat intake. I have been eating much less, and basing my decisions on context, although I think I might need a few rules, as Marion suggested in her comment, to keep me in line. I will wait until after spring break to set and enforce them, when I can rely on a more regularized schedule. 

-What does my composting experience challenge or reinforce from the readings and discussion?

I've already mentioned a few readings, but one of the important readings that made me make my 'no new products' commitment was our consumerism reading "True Wealth." As I mentioned in my comment to Lee, his words and the reading in general were particularly helpful in showing me how little I want to associate and identify with advertisements and the marketing of trashy (poor in quality and likely to be in the trash bin soon) goods. As the reading shows, so many of us are slaves to branding and planned obsolescence, and I am taking this measure to explore where I am on this spectrum, and what I can do about it. 

Broad question update: changes in my perceptions of impact?

Yes. Composting my food waste, and reflecting, conversing, and writing about it has been a good experience for me. Although I am not sure that the particular project I chose (ie. the 'pile of rotten food waste') was the determining factor, I think I could have reached similar conclusions and confidence in my ability to commit with another project. That said, had I chosen a much more difficult project, I may have become disillusioned. A final reflection: we have a strange relationship to our trash. It decomposes SO slowly, yet people are afraid of it as soon as it goes in the garbage can. A wrapper from a granola bar goes from helpful and safe to dirty and unclean as soon as the granola bar is consumed. We find coffee grounds or an avocado pit deserving of the trash can ASAP. All these socialized conditions seem to be effects of exporting our trash quickly and quietly away from our kitchens, houses, and neighborhoods. Composting is a way to reconnect with what trash is, how long it takes to decompose, and how to not be so afraid of it. 

Waste from friend Gabriel Maldonado

Gabriel Maldonado contributing compost to the pile.

Sample of two days' compost from the South Kitchen.

Halfway Point Report: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Waste Transform My Perception of Impact

Halfway Point Report: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Waste Transform My Perception of Impact

Note: For information on the background and process of the experiment, please see below. At the beginning of the project, I outlined some questions to consider throughout the experiment, in order to help me gauge the changes in my perception of impact, as well as other concerns about waste and compost. At the halfway point of the project, I have partial answers to each of these questions. 

-Is the level of waste surprising?

So far, the South kitchen (which serves 3 people) has been creating about one quart of food waste (1-2 pounds) per day. Considering that the average consumer in North America and Europe create between 200 and 250 pounds per person annually, it appears we are well under the average. However, the food waste collected in our kitchen only accounts for the meals we eat at home (most meals but not all), and the weight has ranged from much lower to much higher over the course of the week (a very small sample). By the end of next week, we will weigh the entire contents of the compost pile to see if we can come up with a more accurate figure. However, this figure will be limited because we have taken compost on occasion from other people outside of the house on occasion.  

-Are the types of waste, or ratios of certain types we produce, surprising? And how it is working?

So far, we have mostly vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grinds, and tea leaves. Unfortunately, although we have been adding some dried leaves and needles to mix into the compost pile, our compost pile is not decomposing as we might like. Because of the cold temperatures, our compost is essentially frozen all the way through. I have been tracking how much of our waste is Nitrogen-rich (such vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings) and what is carbon rich (such as dried leaves, wood chips, bark) because I know a healthy compost has a C/N ratio of between 20/1 and 30/1. I have been looking for signs of the heap being too nitrogen rich (odor, high temperature) or nitrogen poor (cold, inactive). While the heap has been very inactive, with the organic matter ridged and often frosty, our ratios are probably nitrogen rich because there is very little carbon rich material. I have added some dried leaves but not many and all of our food waste is either nitrogen rich or, in the case of egg shells, neither nitrogen nor carbon rich. However, even with nitrogen rich levels we have a cold and inactive compost pile, so I hypothesize that the inactivity is due to the cold weather and short time period elapsed thus far, not a chemical imbalance. A final clue that the cold is the biggest problem is that healthy compost should be quite moist, and when you squeeze ours their is often no liquid water that comes out. It is possible we will have to wait until later in the spring to see and smell our compost pile come to life. 

-When composting, do I find that I am compelled to deposit more, less, or the same amount of food waste?

Since I started composting, I have been happy to throw food scraps away into the bowl in the kitchen instead of the trashcan. It reminds me of home in Portland where composting is more common, and I'm proud that I finally stopped putting all my food waste in the landfill. So far, I haven't noticed a tendency to throw more food waste away, because in our kitchen we generally eat as much of the fruit or vegetable as possible. Pits, skin, and some seeds are generally the only thing that is composted. In our kitchen, leftovers and spoiled food are very uncommon. In the next week, I look forward to seeing if I tend to use less of an onion, avocado, or pepper because I don't feel as bad about it going to the landfill. Judging by my experience so far, I would be fairly surprised if this occurred. 

-Do the advantages of composting outweigh its disadvantages?

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total US energy budget, uses 50 percent of the US land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States." This alarming statistic shows how much of our resources we spend on what we eat. Unfortunately, much of this is wasted. The United States Composting Council estimated that of 245.7 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2005, two thirds is organic materials (yard trimmings, food waste, wood, paper and paperboard). In 2012, food waste alone was the largest category of municipal waste at 21 percent of total waste. All of the food waste and much of the other organic waste could all be diverted from the landfill if it was composted. Every bit of compost diverted adds to soil health, increases hygiene and health of the waste management process, and does so at a lower cost. The only disadvantages to compost are the time it takes to set up and maintain, and any financial costs one might incur to build or buy a composting container. For cities that pick up compost, an extra fleet of trucks might be required, but many individuals prefer to compost in their yard. For me, the time and financial cost is so minimal that the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. I do not foresee this changing in the next week, or as we continue to project throughout the spring. 

-Does composting make me re-evaluate other environmental commitments I have made, or ones that I might make in the future?

This project is a step towards aligning my values and my actions. The more readings and discussions we complete, the more I realize how many decisions I make just because I have always made them, not because they reinforce my values. Mike Siddoway's thoughtful approach to hunting and environmental stewardship, as well as some of the other blogs from my peers have helped me come to this conclusion. Here are a few moments from the past week where I re-evaluated my actions in a way I hadn't done before. 

-Deodorant: Sometimes the end of the deodorant stick can be uncomfortable when there is very little left. Because of this, sometimes I throw it away a bit prematurely. This time, even though I have a fresh stick ready, I am still using the old stick until it is completely gone. 

-Onion: For whatever reason, onion skins are the hardest thing for me and my roommates to remember to put in the compost. A couple of times this week, I dug through the trash and found a few onion skins to compost. 

-Manual Labor: Therapy or Domination? When I was working for my soccer coach doing manual labor in his yard, I realized how much he loves to take on new projects. As a very old but very strong and spry man, he seems to find things to do on the property more because he likes the exercise, the fresh air, and the challenge of a new project than out of genuine need. We rebuilt a fence so that the deer wouldn't get in and eat all the plants, and we build a protected clearing so he could build a shed or park an RV. Would Kheel or Warren attribute this to his being a man? Or could he be digging holes and moving rocks as a way to stay in touch with the natural? 

-The most significant re-evaluation I have made is my new attitude towards meat. Although I identify as an environmentalist and I dedicate significant time and energy to sustainability work, I am embarrassed to admit I have never seriously considered vegetarianism. I have always though that the 'save the animals' causes on TV were someone else's concern, and didn't fully reason through the moral arguments against eating meat. Since the readings and discussions we've had in class, I have consciously chosen to purchase and consume less meat. The meat we did purchase on the last grocery store trip was all organic and we did not buy the cheap and delicious chorizo or sausage that has been a staple of our diet all year. While most days of my life I've eaten meat twice or more, I have been eating meat at most once daily for the last week, at some points going a few days without consuming it. So far so good! The only time I really slipped was when I was in a rush and hadn't made dinner and my friend offered me a hot dog. I ate it. But I can say that I was imagining the conditions of the animal(s) I was eating while I did so. 

-What does my composting experience challenge or reinforce from the readings and discussion?

A few parts of Chapter 4 of the Hourdequin textbook stuck out to me as I consider the values and actions I've changed in the past week. First, in the section that compares rational and emotional arguments, I realized that I have been much more convinced by the emotional arguments thus far. Even in the rational arguments that are close to air-tight, the arguments that stick out in my mind as I walk through Rastall or King Soopers are the living conditions of the animals in factory farms and the accounts of intentional and respectful outdoorsman like Siddoway. Perhaps this is because the images and stories are fresh in my mind, but as of now I do not feel like "I want a burger but ought not to" I mostly just feel like "I don't want a burger." There is a fine line here, considering the reasons I don't want the burger are moral ones, but we will see how this changes over the next week and throughout the spring. 

Secondly, I like the idea of "contextual vegetarianism" because it allows me the freedom to make decisions based on context when choosing to eat me or not. In general, I think I will continue to eat meat in environments like upscale restaurants, but I hope to seriously decrease my meat intake in situations where I am fairly sure the meat is low quality and/or factory farmed. I do get a lot of pleasure out of meat substitutes, and I think I can completely avoid anything with meat in situations like 7-11 or airport food. Based on the context of where I am, I can work towards lessening my meat intake and seriously decrease my very low quality meat intake. While I'm sure "contextual vegetarianism" seems noncommittal to many, it is a step towards reflecting, evaluating and changing my habits. 

Broad question update: changes in my perceptions of impact?

So far, I've been impressed at the reflections and changes I've made it just one week. Although much of the impetus came not from the rotten pile of food but from other parts of class, this project's emphasis on practicing values has given me a sense of confidence that I can continue to set new goals and determine new processes with which to accomplish them. I look forward to my final reflection in a week's time. 

Roommate Patrick Robinson stands on the tree shortly after it fell in the mid-February storm, gusts reached 85 mph

Roommate Patrick Robinson helping to core the rotten pieces of the fallen tree to make way for other rotten debris  

Roommate Chris Mayo-Smith digs rotten material, it was no surprise the tree fell with this much rot

Tree section ready for transportation and bin construction

Bin construction begins

Bin construction completed, the bark and stones can move as the compost pile grows

Sample of compost, includes sweet potatoes, orange peels, onion skins, green peppers, coffee grinds and filter, egg shells and other food scraps. 

Question: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Transform My Perception of Impact?

To investigate this question, I first need to define a few terms.

Definitions:
"Pile of Rotten Food": to be more specific, a hollowed out stump from a fallen tree, the bark from said tree, and some rocks previously strewn around the yard will form the "compost bin." All food waste from the two kitchens at 322 Cache La Poudre St. and [hopefully] some of the food waste from the one kitchen in 326 Cache La Poudre St will be placed in the "compost bin" to decompose with leaves and grass from the yard. For clarification, the house located at 322 Cache La Poudre has two kitchens, hereafter referred to as "the North Kitchen" and "the South Kitchen."

"Perception of Impact":by using this language, the investigation hopes to judge whether the act of building a bin, collecting food from all three kitchens, and depositing it can provide personal insights into my relationship with waste, and even our relationship with our environment as a whole. Although I am participating in a group project, with my two roommates who are all contributing waste and effort to the project, I will answer the following questions from my personal experience:

-Is the level of waste surprising?
-Are the types of waste, or ratios of certain types we produce, surprising?
-When composting, do I find that I am compelled to deposit more, less, or the same amount of food waste?
-Do the advantages of composting outweigh its disadvantages?
-What does my composting experience challenge or reinforce from the readings and discussion?
-Does composting make me re-evaluate other environmental commitments I have made, or ones that I might make in the future?

Notes on the Procedure:
VERY little research has been done as to the best practices of composting before this experiment. Other than meat and oily foods, we are placing ALL solid food waste into the bin, and mixing it with some grass and leaves in hopes of deterring animal raids. I hope we can learn as we go if there are other concerns that might come up, but I believe it will be more interesting to figure it out as we go rather than looking for advice on the internet. However, we run the risk of having something go terribly wrong--I guess that is a risk I am willing to take.

Update Number One: Sunday, February 23rd, 2014.

We constructed our compost bin (see pictures) this weekend and have begun placing food waste from the South Kitchen into the bin. So far, it has been surprisingly easy to collect the food in a large bowl that we bring outside a few times a day. This could even be a better system than the composting system at my parents' house, in which a closed metal container is taken out much more infrequently and may be significantly smellier. At this point, there are no visible signs of animals marauding around the bin, stealing its contents, or disrupting its structural integrity. Hopefully this will continue. It is too early to have much insight into the questions posed above, or their relevancy to coursework thus far. I look forward to reflecting on these questions in future posts.