Confessions of a sustainable mind

Now that classes are done,
I have a confession.
I like taking long, hot showers.
like 8 min. showers.

Turkey day food for thought

A little food for thought while we all sit down to our turkey dinners.  In doing research for my BSI project, I came across this fact about water use by the EPA:

The average American Thanksgiving dinner for eight people takes about 48,000 gallons to produce.

And yet, the turkey always comes out dry. 

Holiday greetings from Goatradamus

Goatradamus emailed me today with some holiday wishes.

Throwback

So my dryer was on the fritz for the past few days. I called my landlord and he replaced it. Our DVD player breaks and we go get a new one. Our cell phone gets dinged up and we go get a new one. We saw where all those electronics went in that video, but what about the jobs that went in the trash as well. Thinking back to the 2nd week of class, we talked about respect for people. In this day of instant gratification, we no longer have a need for the "repair person." We just need more vendors. Although with the market as it is currently, there seems to be a resurgance of antiquated roles such as shoemakers and tailors.

Windbelt: A Possibility for Cheap Wind Power for Third-World Countries

I came across this video, which could be an interesting possibility to harvest wind energy in third world countries, where the average income is about $10, and expensive turbine technology is out of question.  I thought it was interesting how a simple experiment could translate into the development of alternative energy, not necessarily depending on established but expensive technology.

"key to NC's future:alternative energy"

I was watching the news and saw this story come on...a few weeks too late for the debate but here it is anyways!
Its about a manufacturer who is reducing the cost of producing solar panels already for a 1/3rd of their typical cost. The experts say the are costs expected to match traditional power sources in just five years!

http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=601373

The Eletronic Wasteland

Where do the millions of computer monitors, cell phones and other electronic refuse our society generates end up? Flow this website

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n

Carpet Leader Goes Green

Here is an interesting account of Interface Carpet's founder and chief and his story on beginning his company. After becoming the biggest carpet square company, and being embarrassed when they had no response to "what are you doing for the environment", he talks about  the transition to becoming the best green carpet manufacturer and setting the goal of using nothing other than highly renewable resources in his products by 2020.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en&q=sustainability&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#q=ray%20anderson%20sustainability&emb=0

As promised, here is the link to the AIA ethics code: http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/Hyperlinked_2007_CodeforWeb%20page.pdf

Please keep thinking about this subject. I think you all are right about our need as a profession to be more emphatic about what ethics means.

Wind Dam - is this the answer?

(above: Lake Ladoga - Nothern Russia)

(below: Red River Gorge - Kentucky)

UK based, Chetwoods Associates design a wind dam that generates power. How does this change the natural elements of the gorge? I remember many trips to the Red River Gorge in Eastern part of Kentucky and cannot imagine a huge wind dam blocking the natural environment. While a wind dam is an innovative design, there has to be another solution. How far will we go? What do you think? 

Fungus Fuel

Here is an article from Montana State at Bozeman's website,

Dr. Strobel, from the universities' biology department

has found that endophytic fungus produces the same hydrocarbons

that diesel does, and is working on developing it so that we can use it.

http://plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/strobel/

The Story of Stuff

To go along with what we were talking about in class today, here is a quick, informative, video on knowing where things come from. 

It's called 

"The Story Of Stuff"

check it out:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Air Car

Check this out, car runs on air


http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/106040/

Off the Grid

Star Island Bahamas -  Opens Earth Day 2009

Sustainable Luxury Community and Resort

Solar - Wind - Hydro - Bio Fuels -

http://www.starislandbahamas.com

Class Trip anyone!! 

Trends in Sustainability- luxury automobiles

Bill Mitchell's lecture was very interesting....

I came across recent information about the release of BMW's new Hydrogen 7 model that "takes in hydrogen and emits nothing but water vapor". So liquid hydrogen would be the source of energy, but it is dual platform, with the conventional gasoline tank as well. Although hydrogen is abundant, I am wondering how that would that impact the infrastructure, having "hydrogen stations" in our cities. Also, BMW is a premium brand, therefore not affordable to the common person, so I am wondering if this technology is cost effective.

Here is the link to an interesting article and some images of the car and the hydrogen stations.

City Car

For those of you who didn't attend Bill Mitchell's lecture, you missed out... He introduced his research for the city car being developed at MIT. I really sustainable solution to transportation within cities. A few comments (or problems) I had with his lecture are:

1. He mentioned the implemenation of this vehicle could advocate for more people to move to cities, creating a more dense population.... I guess in theory that sounds good because it would create a smaller footprint for a larger portion of population, but many other problems would be introduced if cities continued to grow.
2. There is an inherent problem with these being owned by the public at-large... people want to own things and assert there status. With the use of bikes (as he mentioned is currently being done in Paris) this seems less important than with a motorized vehicle... so I feel that argument was flawed.
3. I honestly think these would be better utilized in suburbia to supply transportation TO the city (not within it)...
4. I wonder how safe these are? He mentioned no safety was "compromised" in the design, but what does that really mean?

Anyway, for the most part I thought this was a really cool idea and would love to see them utilized in the near future.

Hope in Times of Uncertainty

In a letter by Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of USGBC, talks about the current economic crisis and how it may lead to a recession. And with recession comes unemployment and economic downfall.  Mr. Fedrizzi tells us that the green movement has a commitment to be unwavering in times as such. He also talks about the obvious benefits of the movement such as saving money, energy and creating new jobs.

I believe with the future change with the energy (energy cost will go up) situation, the pressing talk about climate change, and rise of unemployment, this is all opening the doors for a better future for our built environment. I foresee mandates and codes for better building efficiency. I truly cannot see how this economic situation can hurt the green movement, but bolster and even expedite it.

on a side note, I really don't like calling it "green" building. It sounds like a slang term, not a professional terminology. I wish architects had a 1-2 word they can replace "green building/design"

Biomimicking whales

In the sustainability lecture yesterday, I wrote down one of the examples that they talked about because it sounded pretty remarkable. Basically, companies are using whale fins to influence their design of fans, and subsequently, wind turbines. I thought it was especially appropriate since it was one of the "negative" (the group that lost the debate...) group's highlighted alternative energy sources.

An excerpt from one company, the Toronto-based WhalePower Corp:

"Using 'a million years of field tests' to their advantage, Toronto-based WhalePower Corp. is using the fins of humpback whales to help design a better fan (and, hopefully, wind turbine). After US scientists discovered that the tubercles -- the little bumps on humpback fins -- result in 32 percent less drag and an 8 percent rise in lift when compared to a smooth fin. That means a fan blade that 'makes the fan quieter, more efficient, and better at pushing down the air,' according Monica Bowden, chief executive officer of Envira-North, the company that has licensed the WhalePower design."

links with further info:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/biomimicry-fan-blades-mimic-humpback-fins.php

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4282197.html?page=2

Some great biomimicry case studies

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/05/12/solar-lily-pads-planned-for-glasgows-clyde-river/#more-10832

This website, inhabitat.com, has a lot of current applications of biomimicry in architecture. This particular example is of solar panels that are placed in Glasgow's River Clyde that will provide power to the city. They are the architectural version of lily pads, floating, sun absorbing objects. It's a really great idea and not only do they acquire energy but they also serve as a focal point for those visiting the river's edge.

Can running be green?

I'm a runner. Since running (outside!) doesn't require any sort of machinery or energy other than the little bit that I can provide, I assumed running was probably one of the most green sports a person can participate in. After all, I don't have to heat a large body of water to get exercise in the winter, I don't have huge costs involved in upkeep and maintenance of hundreds of acres of snow-covered mountains, I don't spend hours of time and many dollars on gas to drive to a set location to meet up with 12 other teammates who have also had to emit additional carbon dioxide to get there; I walk out the door in the morning and simply start running. Turns out, however, that a runner's most superstitious and prized possessions -- the shoes -- boast hardly any green ingredients... Check out Runner's World's article on just how bad the production of high-performance running shoes and other gear is for the environment...with very little chance for improvement. All that nice squishy and supportive stuff in the shoe is petroleum-based and non-recyclable; it simply won't perform once it has been broken down once. Looks like the main choice we have right now is simply trying to extend the life of the shoes so they don't end up in the landfills so quickly; this link will tell you where you can donate your shoes -- DON'T throw them away!

Biomimicry

I found this video clip of interface talking about biomimicry. Thought it was interesting how everything interrelates with each other. I also found a short article of how interface among other businesses are using biomimicry to solve problems and reduce waste. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP3KMv-Aer0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5fjeqylx28&feature=related
http://intercontinentalcry.org/biomimicry/

How ant Subterrain Structure's Looks Like

This video is very amazing for some of us that have not seen this before. Must check it out...  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQERRbU23bU

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/galleries/gallery/229612.html

The Catawba

Here is a link to some images i found in the news recently having to do with the Catawba River water condition...

Buildings Making the most of Natural Systems

I came across this site which has an interesting video on the mainpage about how buildings & building envelopes can maximize natural systems that it is located in, including light, air, water, & wastes.

"Green" gas station in Los Angeles…

Here are a couple links about the LEED certified "green" gas station in Los Angeles.  After I read a little about it I actually started to think it was a good idea…damn they have a good marketing team!  I mean it is a serious oxymoron, but when you take away the fact that it's a gas station, some of the ideas they've implemented are rather nicely done.  The notcot.org link provides a nice look from a design perspective while BP's site talks a little more about energy.

BP Helios House on notcot.org

The greencurve / about the station by BP

"An Evening with Morgan Spurlock"

"An Evening with Morgan Spurlock"

Monday, September 29th, 2008

7:00 pm McKnight Hall - Cone University Center

Free!  Seating is limited

Meet and Greet Reception to follow

Sudbury, Ontario

My family has actually been to Sudbury, Ontario (McLennan's hometown) a couple times. As soon as I read Sudbury in the Foreword, even before I read the fact about it being the nickel capital, I remembered this fact (probably aided by the memory of the nickel in the picture above). The interesting part of this to me though is that I was there when I was 6 or 7 years old and then again around 9. And as early as that may be, I have a vivid memory of the barrenness of the landscape. I talked to my brother (2 years younger than me) and he remembered the same, as well as the massively tall smokestacks. It amazes me that at such a young age we are still that aware of our surroundings. I also believe that even then, I knew that something wasn't right about the area, it just wasn't normal. It makes you wonder how if as children we can so easily tell right from wrong, how we get led so far astray as we grow older and supposedly more aware of our surroundings.

Over-consumption

I don't know if you guys have seen the flyers around campus, but I thought I would post if anyone is interested. I do not know the topic of discussion for the lecture but it should be interesting. Spurlock is most famous for his documentary "SuperSize Me," which he filmed and documented the health issues related to fast food. He also directed another documentary called "What Would Jesus Buy?" This film looks at consumerism, over-consumption, and how it is a part of American Culture. Don't let the "J" word scare you, this film is not religious, but is just used a vehicle to discuss an important message. Here is a link to the trailer and film, if anyone is interested:  http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=what+would+jesus+buy&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1#

McLennan Mentions LEED?...

One thing I found contradictory in McLennan's discussion in his preface is the fact that he mentions LEED as helping the to transform the building marketplace... I would agree that, in some respects, LEED at least makes more designers and builders aware of more environmentally-friendly systems; however, in our LEED-certified buildings at work, we have been told that we don't have to worry about anything except what will affect the building's occupants. For example, I was concerned about the VOCs in the primer that we were using on the architectural exposed steel...and was told by the LEED consultant that I did not need to worry about primers because they were applied in the shop and not in the field. What?!? McLennan's whole premise is the holistic view of the entire system, including the entire life cycle of all materials and their impact; LEED, at least the version that gets passed around in the working community, doesn't emobdy that approach. You can't even get digital copies of the myriad of LEED pamphlets from their website -- you have to order paper copies...

How it's made; Can of Cola

Carrie talks a little bit about the soda can and how much more costly it takes to make them than what its contain inside. From the reading of "System Thing Primer for Natural Capitalism", led me to look into the book which mention in the reading, “Natural Capitalism (Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, Little Brown, 1999), on chapter 3 page 49-50 talks about the pathways of a can of English Cola. Even though this not an American product but I am sure it's made the same way. here is the link:


http://www.natcap.org/images/other/NCchapter3.pdf

Ecotone Article

I found this article about a public design competition for Gateway National Park and the first prize was titled, 

"Mapping the Ecotone".

http://www.vanalen.org/gateway/exhibition_firstprize.php

Related to Google's latest Solar Campus...

I found an article related to Dawn's post about Google's latest solar campus.

This article also mentions one of the factors for sustaining natural capital, as we talked about last week - "Shifting from sale of goods to provision of services". It mentions that although the installations of photovoltaic systems is a common stereotyped as expensive elements, companies like Google, are now beginning to look at it in terms of as beneficial investments through "returns on investment" and "internal rate of return". They mention that it does not need much maintenance (as the the inverters are the only major replacement necessities every 15 years or so), provided that is installed correctly and appropriately integrated into the building.

Stop Titan

I thought this was an interesting site/video that responds to the building

of a huge concrete company on the North Carolina Coast.

http://stoptitan.org/community-reacts-to-titan

Thought you all might want to look at some of the links containing this article.

http://www.eispv.com/customer_stories/google.html

polisnyc.wordpress.com/2006/12/

Just a few but if you google "google solar powered parking lots" , (lol, google, google) you'll find a bunch of them.

Solar Trees

Google Announces 1.6 Megawatt Solar "Campus: Mountain View, California

Google's entire corporate campus in Mountain View, CA is going to become a 1.6 megawattphotovoltaic installation.

Background:

As one of the most recognizable brands on the Internet, Google is on a mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Like many of today's high-tech companies, Google requires an enormous amount of electricity to power the computers and servers it uses to run its business. The company wanted to find a way to reduce energy costs at its Mountain View "Googleplex," as well as make a statement in support of clean energy.

The Challenge:

Unlike the typical "big box" buildings found on most high-tech campuses, Google headquarters features structures with unique configurations, sharp angles, and other architecturally unusual design elements.

The Smart Solution:

Intelligent use of available mounting surfacesBecause of the nontraditional design of the Google buildings, the EI Solutions team had to take a nontraditional approach to engineering the company's solar power system. To maximize energy output, the team assessed every available surface on the Google campus for its viability to hold solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Eventually, more than 197,000 square feet on top of existing buildings and new parking lot shade structures (designed especially for the project) were fitted with cells using customized mounting hardware. To help reduce the cost of such a large installation, plus simplify any future maintenance needs, EI Solutions used one type of PV module in all arrays.

To further optimize the Google system, EI Solutions also closely examined the company's electricity usage patterns, available financial incentives, and the amount of sun received at its Mountain View headquarters.

The Result:

By building the largest solar power system ever installed at a single corporate campus, Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs — or close to $15 million over the 30-year lifespan of its solar system. At this rate, the system will pay for itself in approximately 7.5 years.

This installation will include almost 200,000 square feet of photovoltaic arrays on top of Google's buildings as well as parking lot shade structures (a greatdual-use that generates electricity as well as shading the cars parked in thesun all day so they need less air conditioning and thus use less fuel).

Hybrids will get a charge out of the Energy Innovations carport at a Vacaville, California, park-and-ride lot with plug-in chargers.

Whether this was prompted by the recent passage of pro-solar power legislation in California or not, it will be one of the largest corporate solarinstallations, and is expected to result in almost $400,000 in annual energy costs at today's rates and is expected to pay for itself within 7.5 years.

"Absolutely brilliant: Parking lots covered with solar panels, which generate electricity while providing shade for cars. Last year, I appropriated the term breathtaking inanity (the new irrational exuberance). This year, perhaps a more positive phrase is in order, “breathtaking ingenuity.” "

Just an interesting thought.

Most recycled product in the US?

I found this youtube clip of what the most recycled product is in the US.  Surprisingly, it turns out that 95% of cars are recycled, reused and remanufactured into new cars.  Check out the clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUcEEy7o934

I think steel is the way to go for the best closed loop in construction materials. A majority of structural steel is from recycled scrap without compromising the strength of the material.
Concrete consumes so much material for its construction (cement, water, aggregate, steel, wood, formwork) and its reusage is low percentage from its original product. This does not really create a well closed loop.
the same goes for wood also, since reusage of the wood cannot create as well as steel in the original product. Glulam helps, but with wood, it seems all you can do is mitigate your consumption as well as being more efficient with milling. This does not really create a well closed loop.
Steel is not the perfect answer, with the demand of steel construction and building lifespan not correlating, it is the best of the three, I believe. Hopefully, in the future, more questions will be asked or answers be revealed to create a closed loop system either ameliorated conventional supplies, or new materials will be introduced.

The Sustainability of Steel...

And the value of Recycling.

This is a link to a document that focuses on the sustainability of steel in today's context.  It's interesting that they break down steel consumption and recycling into the construction, automotive, and packaging categories.  It has some interesting figures about the recyclability of steel and even talks about recycling steel as a closed loop system.

http://wwwa.vito.be/erscp2005/documents/papers/PAPER089.PDF

Looking for the answer

From the video of David Suzuki, he mentions the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report. According to their mandate on their website, they do not do research, observe or parameters to data. Rather, they are to assess the latest scientific, technical, and socio-economic literature worldwide in regards to climate change.
In an article by Nature (http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0707/full/climate.2007.22.html), a scientific journal for the Nature Publishing Group (NPG),
it talks about how IPCC are quick to blame climate change is attributed by human activity and how the 2007 report specifically is a departure from earlier reports.
The report claims that the current change in global surface temperature due to CO2 is approximately 3ºC, which is the same as the US National Research Council panel said in 1979.
The article also talk about the reports using "uncertainty estimates" can lead to uncertainty global climate model calculations. The report has multiple runs of the climate models with modeled temperatures results that basically "gives a false sense of certainty that [is] achieved."
Alright I have written too much already.
What I basically want to say is that it is terrible that the scientific research has become more or less biased or even political. Depending on which media you go to, they have their own assumptions and "evidence" for it. It is sad when with research regarding global warming now, there's not one answer.

Is today's Oil Industry yesterday's Whaling Industry?

I read the following two Op-Ed pieces from the NY Times earlier this week. The first is an interesting reasoning as to why we should allow drilling in ANWR and restricted offshore sites. I don't know that I agree with the idea of destroying one ecosystem to save 5 others.

The second piece made me feel a bit more optimistic about our oil situation. If we find the right alternative, I agree with the author that oil will become as obsolete as whale blubber.

Video Clip: Ray Anderson at Interface carpet company

As Carrie talked about Interface carpet company in class yesterday, I came across this video article on NYTimes online, showing Ray Anderson describing his ideas & company.  This is the LINK...

Goats and Green Roofs

Should all green roofs now come with a goat?

Side note to class discussion on difficulties of convincing society about "green" movement

As a side note to one of last week's class discussions about the difficulties on convincing society about the "green" movement. I happened to come across an article in this week's TIME magazine about another facet of this issue. It is an interesting article that points out the many companies that are claiming "green"/"sustainable"/"energy-efficient" products and services are not really doing anything significant. The author, Bryan Walsh, terms this problem "greenwashing", where they mislead customers about the environmentally-friendly advantages through various marketing strategies. So there are websites such as www.greenwashingindex.com and www.terrachoice.com, which are posts by consumers about their research on various products, and which ones are actually producing benefits. According to the second website, www.terrachoice.com, the "six sins" of greenwashing are "hidden trade-off", "no-proof", "vagueness", "irrelevance", "lesser of two evils", and "fibbing". One of the many examples is how a company can claim their paper towels are produced from "sustainably-harvested forests" but spends so much money and energy (CO2 emmissions) to ship and transport it. I just thought it was interesting how there are various factors involved in encouraging sustainability to the general society.

Rice Farmer

Growing up in Thailand I remembered our family never having to buy rice, consider rice is the largest consumed calorie source in every meal. We would eat rice along with our meal at least two times a day, lunch and dinner. We were very lucky to have a grandfather that own and run rice farm. By supporting the local economies, the rice, after harvested were then sold at the town market throughout the year. As for the husk and the bran layers (which removed from the rice grain), some portion of the husk were use as food source for cows and water buffalos. The rest of the husk were treated as fertilizer or sold to the mushroom farm. As for the bran layers, were fed to the livestock such as pigs, chickens and ducks. This is consider as waste as resource. Since my grandfather past, all his properties were then divided to all of his children (eleven of them including my mother). Part of the rice field are now an alcohol brewing factory, thank to all of my uncles’ contribution to the social capital gain and so much with the cultural preservation. At some point when I go back to Thailand, I would have to buy rice to eat but I may not have to pay for the alcohol.

If anybody would like to read up on other culture preferably Thailand, I would suggest checking out Thai-blogs on website below. The blogs was written by a gentleman name Bill Grimson. Bill is an Australian man when to Thailand back in 1977 and fell in love with the people and the culture. The particular part of Thai he is talking about is called Issan which is northeast of Thailand, the same area I came from. In his blogs you will see where he talks about social equity, community, fundamental needs, cultural preservation and more…

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php/c223/?blog=26&paged=3

GOAT NAME

my suggestion for a name is Herbert.  What is everyone else coming up with?

Dis-Equilibrium?

From the ConservationEconomy website, I chose:
-Household Economies
-Cultural Diversity
-Ecotourism
Let's say there's a small rural town that has maintain its traditional culture, structures, business, etc., and has reached national attention as a tourist attraction its preservation. A need to preserve the cultural diversity because of their knowledge of the land, it's ability to self-sustained, but primarily respecting its right as a culture to survive in regards to equality. This in turn, is supported by ecotourism, which is the preservation of original culture and environment in regards to tourist revenues. This is an example of Positive Feedback Loop by maintaining a specific culture helps its economy. Let's also say that our favorite candy, Reese's, was building a factory near the town. This has brought a decrease in tourism due proximity to the town and the air quality in the region has decreased as well. People in the town are now working in the factory and leaving their traditional ways of living. In regards to household economics, If we know that the candy comes from that factory, and we buy it, it is a shift from our values (slowly diminishing the town's culture) of what we feel is right. Does this then show a negative negative feedback (the growth of the factory thrives, the less the town thrives)?

Can Goats eat Kudzu?

This is a funny story....

About two weeks ago my boss had a landscaping company come by and remove the kudzu from the back yard of our office. You see, on Monroe Rd there are a bunch of houses that have turned into offices. On each side of the property there is an enormous amount of Kudzu. Well, the yard looked really good once he had it removed but now its starting to grow back.  Today at work, a client who happens to be a good friend of my boss mentioned that Kudzu grows at a rate of 12 inches a day, yes, A DAY. He went on to mention that his Kudzu problem will be back in before he knows it. Then! He started telling us about the article in the paper we read on the goats and proposed a solution. Have Steve, my boss, buy a goat and have them graze around the kudzu in small areas and then move them each day.  He was amazed that we read the same article in class. It got me thinking, Can goats eat Kudzu? Just a thought...... 

On a side note from class... Does anyone have any non-chain local stores that they really enjoy? I realized that I don't know many, especially near the university.

Discussing renewable and nonrenewable resources in class brought to mind a series of articles written in the Charlotte Observer about the Catawba River.  The articles feature the river as one of the hardest working rivers in the country and as a river at risk.  This article showcases the amazing capacity humans have to change the world around them and stresses the importance of thinking of our impact on the Catawba as a big picture...or as a system.  Not being from this area I had no idea of the history or the current state of this river.  It is pretty amazing, and these articles really exemplify how we are being personally impacted by the need for systems thinking.  This also shows how intimately related the economy, the ecology, and the society of this region are when focusing on the Catawba.  These are definitely worth reading.

http:www.catawbariverkeeper.org/a-cry-for-the-catawba

the AT in Goat

For those of you who do not know, the Appalachian Trail was the first National Scenic Footpath.  The trail runs from Georgia to Maine through the Appalachian mountain chain; crossing through a number of national, state and local parks as well as small towns along the way.  The Appalachian Trail Conservancy maintains the trail and keeps it hike-able.  In the southern region of the Appalachian Mountains there are few places where one can actually get a decent view from the mountain top you just climbed up because of the density of foliage.  In the few places where there are balds (grassy tops), those stretches of trail become the most heavily travelled.  The 12 mile stretch from roan mountain, TN to US 19E is the longest stretch of balds on the east coast.  Just down the mountain is the city of Roan Mountain, TN.  The point I am trying to make is that perhaps the strategy of goat grazing is related to supporting struggling mountain towns that rely heavily on tourism to attract business.  In turn, if berry bushes are encroaching on the southern Appalachian balds then less people will visit the balds, and therefore local mountain businesses that rely on tourists money will struggle even more.  

Green Living Ideas

I recently stumbled upon this website while looking for something else. I've been checking it out and its full of information on green products ranging from interior design elements and paints to eye wear. Also throughout the site are podcasts on more green products and living more sustainably.  Its full of interesting ideas and projects. Enjoy!

http://greenlivingideas.com/

Ideas worth spreading

Here's a really cool website just started. great videos.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

My footprint in Thailand

I was asked to do the footprint for my home in Thailand, and here are the results.



Earth consumptions : .79 earth
Carbon footprint: 6.3-----------------Country Avg. 14.6
Food FP: 6.8-----------------Country Avg. 15.3
Housing FP: 6.3-----------------Country Avg. 6.7
Good and Services FP : 11.4-----------------Country Avg. 14.7
Total: 30.83

Humans are part of the system, too...

Speaking of systems thinking, we have to consider our own bodies as part of the whole system, right? So sustainability -- being able to take care of the planet to further our species -- should include our own health as well as the well-being of the planet and other living things. To take that one step further, the germaphobic society that America has created is a lovely example of not thinking of the entire system -- a multitude of studies (check out http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=20080825-000005&page=1) have proven that Americans have more issues with allergies and asthma simply because we try to disinfect everything from our refrigerators to our scissors. And just as killing bug A leads to a rise in population of bug B, getting rid of germ A (a not-overly-harmful dust mite) leads to supergerm B (a deadly virus). So we've got silly things like kids in grade school getting alcohol poisoning because they're supposed to use hand sanitizer before they do anything...yet we don't see (a) the potential for a supervirus that could wipe us all out because we've erased our entire immune systems or (b) the value that these critters actually afford us in the whole grand scheme (the full system!) of things.

So true systems thinking actually takes all the disciplines (not just design or construction or engineering, but nutrition and medicine and education, too) and puts them together instead of analyzing each one independently...what a novel thought!

Devil’s Advocate Of Systems Thinking

Systems Thinking

This system focuses on how the think being studied interacts with the other constituents of the system. Insects damaging the crops seem to be the big issues to the crops agriculture. By spraying pesticide intended to solve the problem actually make it worse because the way its unintended side effects change the system end up exacerbating the problem. Pesticide might slow down the growth of insect type “A” but eventually lead to greater number of insect type “B” because insect type “A” is no longer controlling the numbers of insect “B” to the same extent. My solution is to spray pesticide intended for insect type “A” on the first crop season and then on the following season, we’ll spray pesticide intended for insect type “B”. In this case we will eliminate both types of insect. Then again, how would pesticide affect the water and soil and the environment.

Artist addresses consumption…

Something Carrie said in class about statistics and numbers not meaning anything reminded me of this artist.  This is actually who I used as a precedent for my shadowbox last year, so some of you may have seen his work.  Chris Jordan's series called "Running the Numbers" looks at American consumption and actually translates those staggering statistics into something visual.  I think this is much more meaningful than just seeing the words on a page… quite powerful in my opinion.  Thoughts?

http://www.chrisjordan.com

Hello all! Welcome to our 2008 blog. As the semester progresses, this is our forum for all things sustainable. I'll start by giving you a link to one of my favorite sites: www.treehugger.com.

Also, we talked about the ecofootprint quiz. Here's the link: http://www.myfootprint.org. Take a few minutes and do your own. We'll take a few minutes in class on Wednesday to discuss where we all fell. I'm sure it will be surprising for most of you. Also, if you are not a native U.S. citizen, do your footprint for your native country as a comparison. It will be an interesting comparative.