Sustaining My Community Commitment

As I previously reflected on my blog, throughout this semester, I would like to take a minute to reflect on the class that all of this work was for. My Sustainable Communities class was much different than I had anticipated, though I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having taken many sustainability classes in the past I thought I was well prepared and would not gain much from this class, but at the end I would have to beg to differ. The texts that we read, and the intellectual discussions that we had every class were extremely beneficial. I was able to finally see all types of sustainability that has been initiated in areas and proven positive to be synthesized together. My favorite part of the class would have to be the times we were given tasks to create a company, a community, or an idea and present it using sustainability as its main focus. It taught me a lot about combining different aspects of communities and sustainability depending on the need, demographics, and location of the place. I truly enjoyed this class and the discussions. Not to mention, I am now an avid listener to TedTalks and even downloaded the app on my phone. I also found a lot of enjoyment out of our Walkability Bloomington project. I always tend to enjoy a class more where there are tangible results, ones that I can see initiated in the community. As I noted in a previous blog post about my Loyola University agriculture project and how I am still attached to it, I know I will be the same way with this project in Bloomington. As our presentations approach to the city I am excited to see how it goes over and if it will end up being implemented as we had hoped. All in all I really loved this class and am happy to know that it will be extremely beneficial in my career as I am only one semester away from being a SPEA grad. I would also like to send a thank you out to all my followers and readers. It has been an amazing push to continue to write enthralling posts as many of you comment and even tell me in person how much you loved my recent post. So a big thank you to all of you for your support.

-Stephanie

A Penny for Progress

Well well well, after a semester spent trying to green my dog I would have to say not only was it WAY more difficult than I had imagined, it turned out well and I had fun doing it. In my attempt to make Penny a healthier, happier dog I would think I have succeeded. And not only did I end up making her greener, but I did the same thing for myself. As I revamped furniture from her, learned more recipes for myself and Penny, and even came up with a dog shampoo I found other neat green things for myself. I found a lovely farm where I got my pumpkins and will be getting my Christmas tree from, I found an awesome organic restaurant in Chicago for when I move back home, and I came up with a lot of new activities for her. For Christmas I am even going to make Penny a little snuggle blanket cove out of a blanket that she ruined the corners of. One of the easiest things I learned throughout this whole blog is puppy ruined furniture and things aren't really ruined, they just need to be repurposed. Obviously if your dog did something naughty like eat your blanket it's because they were lacking something... like attention and warmth. So not only have I learned to constantly keep Penny extremely active by taking her on long long walks and to the dog park, but on rainy days indoor hobbies like building a little obstacle course in the house with all the left over material from the ottoman I had. I am really happy how this project turned out. I feel like I have bettered her life even further. There is no reason why I should be living a healthy life and forget about her. She is just as important as anyone else is. Any why not take her greener. It has honestly only bettered her and made her a happier puppy!

Friend Fur Ever,
Stephanie & Penny

Going Organic In the Windy City

Outside Class Experience 2

I recently went on an annual girls shopping trip in Chicago with my boyfriend's lovely family this year. And what a trip it was! (I know shopping feeds capitalism and many of you are rolling your eyes at me, but it is the Christmas season and I promise I didn't go crazy.) I still wanted to stay on my mission of being as green as possible lately. I was hoping I would find a nice organic cosmetic store while I was perusing Michigan Avenue but I didn't come up as lucky. After a few hours of walking and window shopping all of us were getting pretty hungry for some lunch. My friend Christie started talking about her favorite restaurant in Chicago. She loves it so much she was willing to go alone and meet up with us wherever we were so she could get her hands on one of their sandwiches. We were all convinced that this place must be delicious so we whipped out our phones, and got directions to walk there. About five blocks or so later we came upon Hannah's Bretzel.

When we walked in it smelled delicious. With pictures of pretzel buns and all of their organic products I was sold and excited. I started to red their signs around the restaurant and got even happier. "We are proud to support local farmers," "We are donating 20% of our sales to the academy for global citizenship," "we offer gluten-free", "we offer vegetarian and vegan options."There were signs about their history, what is fully organic foods, what is local. This place was a hidden gem! How had I never heard about this place?!

I walked in and was greeted with friendly faces and a delicious and large menu. Though a bit pricey for just a sandwich I am always willing to pay a little bit more to support something important. So after much wavering over items because of their delicious ingredients I finally settled on "Hannah's Club" and walked up to the counter. I placed my order to a lovely deli attendant and made my way through the line. My sandwich came wrapped in wax paper, two napkins, and I got to choose from an organic soda that came in a glass bottle. I got an Oogave organic soda which was one of the yummiest pops I've ever had, probably due to their use of agave and no high fructose corn syrup. I got to the cashier, payed around $12 for a HUGE sandwich, homemade potato chips, and an agave pop. Not too bad in my opinion taking into consideration everything it supports and how delicious it all was. It was so good I forgot to take a picture sorry :-( but it did look EXACTLY like the photos of the sandwiches online.

Hanna's Club at 56.0% Organic

One thing that I found was really interesting is that since they support local farmers not everything is "certified USDA organic", but through my sustainability classes I have learned that just because something isn't certified doesn't always mean it isn't pretty organic. So I have no qualms with Hanna's Bretzel. The highest organic sandwich is the Bavari-Asian at 84% which is quite impressive in my opinion.
By the end of my lunch I found it even more surprising that they give you recycling options as well.

This place was really impressing me. With areas for paper, class, plastic, and food waste I was astonished. I was so happy that my adventure into the city didn't make me compromise my green morals. I was able to keep eating local and organic during my adventure to the Windy City. My outside class experiences have proven to be fun, exciting, interesting, and productive! As I move back to Chicago in May I am excited to know that I now have a new sandwich place (that even is a chain! woot woot way to go!) that is pretty affordable for yummy organic deliciousness! Props to Christie Salmon for finding this restaurant and Hannah's Bretzel for doing what is right when it comes to opening a restaurant.

Rub A Dub Dub Get That Pooch In The Tub

As the seasons change and it gets a bit muddier outside I noticed that that hasn't stopped Penny from her usual rolling around in the grass. Her paws have been getting covered in mud and so has her under belly. And of course they day she gets covered in mud was the day I ran out of puppy shampoo. So I had to improvise. I pulled up my Pinterest board where I have been saving things I thought would be useful for her. I had a shampoo recipe and thought this would be a great time to try it out.

Recipe
1 pint of a gentle dish detergent (Ivory or Dawn works best)
1 pint of water
1 pint of apple cider vinegar
4 oz of glycerine

I happened to have all of these things in my pantry. I like to use vinegar and baking soda to regularly clean out my garbage disposal. I then toss a lemon in there and turn it on and have a lovely smelling kitchen. I also happened to have glycerine because it is a great skin moisturizer. You can usually find it at your local pharmacy.

So I cut the recipe in half and mixed it all up in her empty shampoo bottle. (She is small so I wouldn't need that much) Anyways I shook it up vigorously for a bit, got the tub going and grabbed Penny. It suds up great on her leaving her quickly clean and smelling so nice. (There are no pictures since my phone got stolen and I lost all of them, I know its a bummer. I had an adorable one of her covered in sudsy bubbles!)

Penny has sensitive skin, and after having her not itch as much as she usual does, I know I ended up finding a really great shampoo now for her. Hopefully I can find a conditioner recipe soon to keep her even silkier.

Friend Fur-Ever,
Stephanie & Penny

Shake The Hand That Feeds You

Outside Experience 1

As  a child of suburban Illinois, I had an October dream. I wanted to pick a pumpkin off of a vine. I know this may sound silly, but not growing up in a rural town makes you appreciate some of the traditions that go along with agriculture. Also, Halloween is kind of a huge deal in my family. My mother's birthday is on Halloween so we always have a huge celebration for it. We would go to a patch, go through some corn mazes, have some cider, and I would pick the biggest pumpkin I could find. (I need to clarify though, that a "patch" in Chicago means someone trucks in some pumpkins, unloads them on the ground, and you get to sift through a bunch of pumpkins in a grassy patch of land till you find one that suits your fancy.) I'd make my parents take home the largest, roundest, and orangiest pumpkin they had (even if it mean't my parents spent $50 on a pumpkin). Then we would go home and have a carving party while listening to music, and filling up the kitchen with pumpkin seeds and laughter.

Yes I am carving a pumpkin in my pjs while sitting on a table

Dad was always more interesting than anything else!

Parental supervision even though I had mastery knife skills at 4

 Later, we would put the jack-o-lanters out, get costumed up, and go trick or treating for hours after dinner. And come home and eat my mom's birthday cake.

Grandma's awesome sewing skills, we always had the best costumes

Obviously, Halloween has a special place in my heart. It is not only my favorite holiday, but one that I got all out for an celebrate. So not going to get pumpkins and having a carving party was out of the question. I got lucky because my boyfriend had a Friday off finally and I was intent on getting a pumpkin. We first headed to Musgrave Orchards to get some cider for our carving party, and by party I mean me, Bob, and Penny. We got bundled up in our rain gear, and picked up some local cider which was so yummy. They didn't have pumpkins there though, so I had to improvise. We started heading down 46 towards the agricultural sector of Bloomington. About a mile down the road I saw a lovely sign saying "Fowler's Pumpkin Patch"! I was immediately sold... and kind of hoping that they might give me a discount since it's my last name too.

At the Fowler Pumpkin Patch Entrance

A couple miles down the road, we pulled up to this adorable little farm with a scarecrow in the front yard. There were pumpkins everywhere! Not only were there cut pumpkins, like when they dump them on a lawn in the burbs and your are tricked into thinking it is a "patch," but there was an ACTUAL patch of pumpkins by their vines! SOME STILL ATTACHED! I had struck Halloween gold!

Part of one of the 3 patches

 A lovely man came out to greet us, on the uncharacteristically cold and rainy fall day, cheerful and chipper to see excited customers. His wife came out to meet us with a cart to pull along to put our pumpkins on. She laughed and said I came prepared in my rainboots because it was a mud field out there. (That wasn't going to stop me!)

Patch with a glimpse of the tree patches

Bob and I readily walked around the patch excited as all can be to get pumpkins. I think my excitement wore off on him because he got super into it looking for "the perfect pumpkin." We ended up walking around the entire farm probably for around an hour trading pumpkins till we were satisfied. We finally yanked the wagon back up this hill where we were going to purchase them. To my amazement I spent only $20 on two huge pumpkins and one medium one. That is UNHEARD of in my hometown. You normally pay $20 a pumpkin and you miss half the experience. I started talking to the lovely couple about how much fun I had, and how awesomely affordable their prices are. They told me it is pretty normal around there and they have been in the pumpkin business for about 3 years or so and have been doing really well from it. We chatted a bit longer and they started telling us how they have a Christmas tree farm as well.

I really enjoyed my time there. It brought to mind one of my favorite quotes "shake the hand that feeds you." Michael Pollan wrote this yet, it is not something we are unfamiliar with when it comes to building sustainability in our communities. Know your farmer, know where your food comes from, and support your local farmer. That day I was able to connect with the earth in a way I had been dreaming about since I was a little girl. So I would just like to take a moment to thank the Fowler Pumpkin Patch in Bloomington, Indiana for allowing me to check off yet another item on my bucket list.

-Stephanie

Natural Capital of the Election

This week's readings focused on community economic development and then on a global scale about natural capital. There was a lot of talk about resources as a major player in politics as a new greener era emerges. 

Their plans verbatim from their sites

I thought with election day being tomorrow, I would touch on President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney's energy plans by breaking them up side by side for comparison on their version of energy policy and how they plan to monetize natural capital. 

As an environmental scholar I of course have criticism for both plans, one more so than the other. However obvious that may be you, my dear reader, are entitled to your own opinion on who will be a more successful leader. But I am going to be as non-partisan as possible when discussing this because that is only fair. Let us now consider the bright  (and I say bright because with both of these plans there will be an excess amount of cosmic radiation that will come through and toast us to our core, okay that is a bit overdramatic but you get my point) future that we will have under either administration. 

If we continue with the current Obama administration we are supposedly to be encompassed in an all encapsulating environmental plan to reduce the drastic current climate change. This to me, is a very important statement. It is our current president saying "yes we have a climate problem that needs to be addressed" (not an actual quote). This is a major step in the right direction. His second bullet mentions moving towards oil independence by cutting our imports by roughly half which he says can be done by increasing the fuel economy of cars to on average of 54.4 mpg by the year 2050. His third bullet combines with his fifth when he states the importance of having a clean energy economy. He plans to do this through natural gas, clean coal (which I still hold does not truly exist), wind, and solar energy by 2035.

If we opt for change and vote in the Romney administration we can expect "onshore" energy production, which I am taking to mean clean coal, natural gas, solar, and wind energy. In the second bullet Romney emphasizes "the most robust five-year offshore lease plan" which will open resource development... I think that means drilling for oil since he is quite vague on this point. Point three states opening a pipeline between Canada, the US, and Mexico to promote "cross border energy investments." Point four states to reassess all previous energy resource assessments to determine the current capacity of our natural resources. His fifth point emphasizes the enactment of stronger environmental regulation to reduce industries from over emitting while still maintaing a strong economy. His last point emphasizes the need for innovative technology pertaining to environmental security done by the private sector to encourage diverse fuels and natural gas to be eventually used in the transportation sector.

Based on my interpretations I decided to give a +1 or a -1 for each bullet point for each candidate to see based on my interpretation of how they turned each environmental point into a SUSTAINABLE natural capital position. Here is my breakdown:

1. I gave Obama a +1 for connecting energy economics with climate protection.

2. I gave Obama a +1 for trying to cut oil usage so significantly.

3. I gave Obama a -1 for using natural gas because of how destructive it can be to mine for it and how small a 100 year supply actually is.

4. I gave Obama a +1 for investing in solar and wind power.

5. I gave Obama a +1 for increasing the fuel economy of cars to cut down CO2 emissions.

6. I gave Obama a +1 for investing in clean energy sources (minus the fact of his inclusion of coal as clean).

7. Bringing his grand total to a 4

   

 ________________________

1. I gave Romney a +1 for his enthusiasm to create energy in states, even though he left which type of energy vague.

2. I gave Romney a -1 for offshore drilling

3. I gave Romney a -1 for building an oil pipeline that will be pulling oil from the pristine state of Alaska.

4. I gave Romney a +1 for reassessing current natural resource stocks

5. I gave Romney a +1 for increasing regulation and transparency

6. I gave Romney a +1 for promoting private sector innovation for cleaner technologies

7. Bringing his grand total to a 2

Obama 4: Romney 2

After crunching the numbers based on how I view and interpret their points, it is obvious to me, that Obama wins on the energy/environmental front. Though I am not a supporter of clean coal as Obama is,  I can stomach it more than I can of drilling in Alaska for oil. There is just this horrible image in my head of brown bears drenched in oil from a leaked pipeline, or birds dying from a loss of habitat to build a pipeline. It is my opinion that Obama finds the environment to have more natural capital and inherent value than does Romney.

Though this is not the only platform either gentlemen are running on, it is an important part of both of their campaigns. All I can say is I hoped to bring you the facts on where each man stands, and on my interpretation of their views on Resource Politics as a student of sustainability.

And don't forget, no matter which person you vote for,  HAVE A VOICE, MAKE A CHOICE!

Underground Cities: An Alternative Transportation System

As the readings call for alternatives in transportation sustainability, and our walkability initiative with Bloomington, I got interested in what a pedway system can do in a major city. And if it is at all functional and should be utilized in smaller cities.

Deep beneath the hustle and bustle, buried feet below the city of Chicago lies a hidden system of tunnels nestled just below your feet. With harsh winters and winds that bite at your face, the idea of a pedway below the city only makes sense. However, no one really knows about it. As a Chicago native I had never heard about this pedway system till recently this year. I was irate that after four years of undergrad and traipsing through the city with my whole body nearly frozen like a popsicle I would have loved to use a pedway system. And as my time here at SPEA draws to a close I start to wonder if it will be useful to me in the coming future.

With more than 40 city blocks connecting one another to train stations, retail stores, hotels, skyscrapers, and the merchandise market the system would appear to be seamlessly formed. However, most natives don't know about it. There are apparently signs around the city to mark the hidden entrances but I have yet myself to ever see one.

However, unbeknownst to me at the time, I have myself walked through a tunnel taking the "L" in Chicago and transferring lines. Although the elevated train system is kind of old and not the safest it is highly efficient and gets you around the city rather quickly at a pretty reasonable price. But back to the pedway. Transferring from the Blue Line to the Red Line in Chicago requires you to walk down a dingy, tiled, weirdly lit, and smelly tunnel to get to the next line. Turns out that is the typical pedway that is rather new.

The pedway wasn't that bad when I was with my boyfriend late at night and lots of others commuters, but if you asked me to walk around the city by myself through these tunnels you would have to have me armored with a baton, taser, and pepper spray. But the typical tunnel for the pedway isn't as lovely as the one above. It is a bit scarier.

If Chicago could get its act together and make its pedway system safer, cleaner, and better advertised I know many people would take advantage of it on torrential rain and basically through the entirety of the winter. Chicago has harsh weather and its people are always looking for a way to avoid trudging to work in subzero temperatures, with whipping wind, and mounds of snow to battle just to get a few blocks down in the city. There is much opportunity for growth and as the city moves towards being even greener, I anticipate they may start to utilize this system more if it is remodeled. But do I think Bloomington would ever need a pedway system, most likely not. If we didn't have such a good bus system I might say it would be good to integrate somewhere into the IU campus. However, our busses tend to get you where you need rather quickly so a pedway would be unnecessary. But in Chicago, it would be AMAZING!!! Well if they cleaned it up a bit and maybe if I got a taser.

-Stephanie

Penny Pinching

I recently talked about the importance of reusing before happening to recycle items of mine. And this is where it all began. I have a coffee table that I got at Ikea last year. It is not well put together, entirely made of particle board, and basically all I could afford. But as the year went on I started to realize I used the table more as a footstool than anything else. However, it was entirely uncomfortable but my only option. After a few hours of reading a textbook with my feet on the coffee table I realized how much I had hurt my ankles. I had a huge indentation that was red and sore. So of course my first reaction is to start googling ottomans. And to my surprise they are pretty pricey. Even the ones from Walmart will run you around $100, which is a lot seeing as to how that is two weeks of groceries of groceries for me and I don't want to buy more furniture. After googling many blogs and youtube videos I found a bunch that taught you how to reupholster furniture. I then further found some more on how to turn a coffee table into an ottoman.

5 Days 5 Ways

Home With Mandy

Jenny Komenda Interiors

From there I downloaded a few coupons and took some measurements of my table, grabbed my keys and headed to JoAnn Fabrics. There I bought Green Foam for comfort, thick white batting, a staple gun, and some thick canvass fabric that I found in the scrap section. In the end I ended up spending around $32 only. And if you add in the original price of the table ($19) I ended up with an ottoman for $50! That is dirt cheap, not to mention eco friendly, and I got to pick the fabric that matches my decor. About an hour later, and the major brute force done by my boyfriend since I didn't buy the best staple gun, I had a cozy, comfy ottoman.

 So cozy that it got pinched!

THE FACE OF GUILT!

Rights have been established and yes her paws are crossed

Penny commandeered my ottoman within minutes of actually having it. She never once climbed on my coffee table, but the moment I put a piece of cozy fabric she went all Christopher Columbus on me and staked her claim on it. As I tried to shoo her off, a war of resources broke out. Her little canines started to flair, she bent in a crouching position, and started to growl. She refused to move. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. After about ten minutes of her running around from the couch to the ottoman and back and forth I gave up. Basically I lost to an 8lb dog. Every time I thought I got her off she would just hop back on and knock off the nice little tray with all the tv remotes and books off of it.

Guarding her territory during the battle

Now not only do I not have an ottoman, but I don't have a coffee table anymore. Instead I have a puppy pedestal that she sits on since I moved it for her towards the window. When I had the blinds open she would lay on it and soak up the sun on her belly, so I gave in and just gave it to her. 

Before

After

As the days grow colder I don't feel so bad for giving it to her. She needs sunlight and happiness in her life. So it got me thinking. What other things out there can you repurpose into pet furniture.
And I found a bunch of nifty things.

Desk Cat Station

Upside Down Table

Dog Food Risers

Repurposed End Table

Suitcase Dog Bed

As you can see there are many option for repurposing for your pet, most of which are intended unlike my little mishap. But it goes to show you the adaptability of animals and green home innovation. There are always options for making your pet comfortable, and not all of them have to be store bought.

Friends Fur Ever,

Stephanie & Penny

-$22.01 +$32.00 (which I am using as positive because I ended up with an awesome ottoman/puppy bed)
=$9.99

Update!
The puppy relief station didn't work. She ate the corner off... Maybe it will start to work in the winter when she misses grass? Hopefully!

Penny Potty Problemos

Penny may be a lot of things... but she is not dumb, that's for sure. If you could equate the attention demanded by this little dog it would basically be that of Paris Hilton circa 2004 when she was in her media hype stage. I have tons of toys for her. (I thought about going eco friendly with them early on and that didn't work out so well.) I had to return tons of toys to Petsmart because she has the ferocity of a pit bull so she is basically confined to Kong toys. But back to Paris Hilton, who owned a Chihuahua too FYI (which Penny is part.) She demands attention and tons and tons and tons of it.

This past summer, after 5 months of failed potty training attempts, and my soon to be gone deposit because of my carpet at my apartment, my mother was able to potty train her. Bless her soul, this woman was a God send! She had her going outside on command, and inside on a puppy pad (in case of rain, blizzard, or long library hauls). I keep Penny in the kitchen for part of the day while I am in class, so it was important that I didn't make her suffer so we also trained her on the puppy pad. And it worked! At night she would go on it too, and so long were the days of piddle accidents.

Penny commandeering the bed

I moved back to my lovely apartment and things were great... for about a month. And then it all changed. I got busy and she wasn't having it. She wanted to be snuggled and played with every second of every day. I started to notice that when I took a shower, she had a piddle accident RIGHT NEXT to the puppy pad. And I mean maybe  an inch away. Then if I fell asleep on the couch... another piddle accident RIGHT NEXT to the puppy pad. If I fell asleep with her though in my bed... NO ACCIDENT. She went on the puppy pad. I started to use my sleuthing techniques and with reason, logic, and deduction (and by that I mean my boyfriend figured it out) I realized that she was PIDDLING ON PURPOSE!


That little stinker was doing it on purpose and I was going through mounds of cleaner, paper towels, and puppy pads trying to clean the mess up. So I had to do something because this paper waste was getting out of control and frankly wasn't very green. So in my despair I was checking my email and I got an awesome Groupon for a pet relief station half off.

It isn't real grass, and is probably made of lots of plastic and synthetics, but here is my idea. If I don't have to buy a bunch of chemical carpet cleaner, puppy pads, or paper towels, it has to be better in the long run! Right? Plus since it resembles grass maybe it will work because she will think she is going outside all the time and will like using it because she is already trained to do so. I really hope her pavlov kicks in on this one because it isn't for lack of care that she gets like that. I am pretty sure it is spite. She really is adored and loved. I play with her all day long. As I am writing this to you I am constantly being interjected by a game of fetch with her that frankly she is winning.

So I am starting to realize that there is no cookie cutter way to go green with your pet because they have a personality of their own. I am starting to adapt my ways of thinking about sustainability to work with her personality and her needs to turn her green.

Stay tuned for some posts on eco puppy nutrition.

Friends FUR-ever,

Penny & Stephanie

Running Total
$22 for the relief station + 1 penny from last time=
-$22.01