Semester's end

So now that the semester is at its end, I'am left with a few mixed feelings about this project. I have enjoyed the creative aspect of this assignment, but I don't think I'm very good at it. I had a lot of fun with the field study part  of this project, I was able to go out at night and pick through the trash for school. This assignment made me keep up with the ongoing project that is my basement, and I was able to find so much stuff to put down there. I think that I will keep up with my dumpster diving habits, because of how much fun it is, but I don't think I will keep up with my blog posts on a regular basis. I plan to leave this web site up for people to check out, and maybe I'll come back to it eventually.  I really enjoyed writing the responses to the readings we had for this project, I think Bill McKibben is an excellent author and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.

No Luck

 Over the weekend I attempted to do some dumpster diving with a friend of mine with little to no luck in finding anything I could put to use. It happens sometimes, we went to a few different locations around Kalamazoo, but most of the dumpsters were either locked, or empty. The one thing about dumpster diving is  that its not always reliable, sometimes even if you hit up dumpster after dumpster you will eventually find something, but I on the other hand had no luck at all. The fact that you never know what your going to find is what keeps me going out there, and at least looking for things I could use. After doing some research on dumpster diving I have found a few links that would be helpful for people who might want to get into finding stuff in the trash. The first website is a site some one set up to inform people how to safely dumpster dive within the legal limits, as well as some tips on supplies needed to stay safe and clean  http://www.wikihow.com/Dumpster-Dive.  The second site that I found was a site that describes dumpster diving as a lifestyle people are getting into because of the economy, I found this website to be informative, and also the video is neat. One of the best things about finding stuff in the trash is that its like a treasure hunt, you never know what your going to find out there     http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/dumpster.htm.

More Things I found in the Trash

 On my way home the other day I noticed a large group of people gathered across the street from my house. The neighbors across the street were being evicted, and the landlord was throwing everything that was in the house away. Most of the good stuff, T.V.' s, an entertainment center, a record player, and speakers  were already claimed by the people of the neighborhood who had gotten there before me. I sat on my porch and watched as people scrambled to get as much stuff as they could, and the majority of items that had been thrown out now belonged to some one else. I waited a few hours until it got dark before I made my way over, there was still a huge pile of trash and this is what I found. The glass jar I'm going to use as an art project, I'm going to make a candle holder out of it. The rug is just one of many that I found that night, it sits on the landing going down into my basement. The fun thing about discarded carpet is making a floor with mis-matched pieces perfect for a basement that's dirty anyways. The last item that I found was a cake pan, I have a sister in law that makes different kinds of cakes, and I thought she might want it, if not its metal so it will go in the scrap pile for a bit of cash. So you might be wondering why I'm writing about this junk that I found and how it relates. Well the trash pile that I picked through the left overs, is still sitting there two days later, which is not uncommon in my neighborhood, and will most likely sit there for awhile. The way I see it if it's going to end up in a land fill I might as well use it. Whats the point of paying to carpet my basement when its just going to get nasty anyway, and most of the carpet I find is just scraps left over from a carpet job anyway. The other reason I bring up this situation is because of the community response to the people being evicted. They saw an opportunity for free stuff and took advantage over it, and aggressively too. People were shouting at each other as they called friends with vehicles to haul stuff away. The amount of things people accumulate, and then throw away is something to take advantage of. No one gets evicted by surprise, the people who lived at that house more than likely had ample time to get their stuff, and if they didn't want it other people do.

Carbon Footprint

After visiting the environmental protection agencies website I have learned a few things about my personal carbon foot print. A carbon footprint for those who don't know is everyone's personal carbon impact on the environment whether it the emission's coming from our cars, or the amount of electricity we use. The EPA's website was extremely helpful in providing options, and ideas for people to reduce their carbon footprint, increasing fuel efficiency, insulating our homes better, and recycling. The EPA's website also has a household carbon foot print calculator which I used to compare my household's carbon emissions with my brother's. Some of the things that factored into the calculator was data used from our monthly energy bills, whether we used natural gas, or propane, how many miles we put on our cars, and if we recycle or not. I found that my current household emissions is 14,320 pounds per year, compared to my brother whose yearly emissions was 27,272 pounds. One of the interesting things I found is that I currently live in a house with four people, we use one car, and don't recycle. My brother lives with his girlfriend so two people, they have two cars, and they do recycle, yet his emissions are higher. Another interesting thing I found was that the U.S. average household emissions is at 41,500 pounds per year which is much higher than my average. There are a few reasons why my brother's household emissions are higher than mine. For starters his girlfriend works in Marshal which is about forty minutes from Kalamazoo. My brother also has central air, and because I don't my electricity bills will be lower in the summer, as opposed to the winter. So it doesn't really surprise me that my brother has higher carbon emissions than I do, I have a car but  I don't really drive it, and I consume less energy annually than he does. One of the things I think could be improved upon with the carbon calculator is to include people that rent their homes, and try to provide options for them to decrease their carbon foot print as well. Most of the options like replacing windows, and the furnace with a more energy efficient one is just not a practical option for people who rent. Also there was a question on the calculator that asked if one of the vehicles used could be replaced with a more fuel efficient one, I felt that taking the bus or riding a bike might be a better option that would be more available to people who may not be able to afford a new fuel efficient vehicle.     
        

Things I found in the trash

Lately I haven't had any luck dumpster diving. but I was on my way to school yesterday, when I came across this entertainment center on the side of the road. With a little bit of work, and some help from a friend we were able to set this up in my basement.

This set of shelves, is something I found a few weeks ago, while I was out walking my dogs. I brought it home, and we painted it, we now use it as an art shelf for art supplies.

This key-board was found on a curb in Portage by Portage Central High School. It came with the stand and everything. Every single key works as well as the control panel. 

As a broke college student I was able to refurnish my basement with things I found for free. I was able to create a space in my house that is constantly changing and evolving with the weird things I come across on the side of roads and behind buildings. The point I'm trying to make is that we live in a disposable culture, if something breaks then just throw it away. The amount of waste around us is something we can utilize and use to our own benefit, and with a little bit of work an empty basement can turn into a space of creativity. There are also things found in the trash that can be used for monetary gain as well. A friend of mine recently came across a few computer monitors, and after taking them apart he was able to get around fifty dollars worth of copper. The world of trash around us is a fun one, you never know what your going to find.

A Response to Bill McKibben's Eaarth

After reading the first few chapters in McKibben's book "Eaarth Making Life on a Tough New Planet" I was struck with a mixture of emotions, anger, fear, and frustration. Human impact and its affects on climate, and the environment for me as I'm sure for many others seemed so far into the future that I never really thought I would see the impact in my lifetime. Our ocean temperature's are rising, the glaciers and ice caps are melting, (at surprisingly alarming rates) and the results of those warming temperature's are harsher storms, and stranger weather. McKibben not only puts climate change into an immediate perspective, but he also presents the issue from an economist's point of view. Why would an insurance company pay to re-roof a house if its just going to blow off in the next storm a year later. He points out that there is a huge chain of events that happen with the constant change of climate on our new planet, and part of the larger picture is that we spent so much time and money building up the old world, that to change it to accommodate the new is either going to be extremely difficult, or impossible. One of the reason's I felt angry after reading these chapters is because so much of the third World is not only hit the hardest by the new changes in climate, but also the fact that they have so little to do with whats actually changing our planet. Third World countries like Haiti don't have the money to rebuild after violent storms, and places in India are losing their sources of fresh water, as snow packs are melting too early. I feel my frustration on this issue comes from many different things. I feel powerless, is there any way to change all this, the coal fire plants are not going to stop, it will be too late before any real change happens, and by then the first world will look very much like the third. I also feel frustrated because people cant see past their privilege, so many people are not willing to give up what they already have. America's culture is a disposable one, buy something new and throw the old one out. I see dumpster diving as not a sustainable path for everyone but as a way for me to at least do my part. I dumpster dive not only to keep things from reaching the land fill but also because I'm too broke to buy most of the things I find anyway. If it keeps me from going to the store, and consuming what I could find for free, and I could save a little space at the dump, than why not. 

Hope Human And Wild:

In chapter two of Bill McKiben's book "Hope Human And Wild" the author dissects the South American city Curitiba. Within a country that is very much in the third world, there is a city that is moving in a direction, that I wish more cities would follow. Curitiba is a shining mecca within the country of Brazil,  a country otherwise full of corruption and greed. Cities with large populations deal with similar problems whether they are located within the third world or not. The way government officials dealt with some of these common problems in Curitiba is what this made this city interesting to me. Waste is a difficult problem to solve when a cities population reaches close to two million people. One of the ways to solve Curitiba's waste issues was a government program that exchanges garbage for food. People who inhabit the slums of Curitiba collect garbage take it to a designated location, and depending on the weight of the trash would depend on how much food they would receive. The country of Brazil also has problems with the number of children that would roam the streets, and destroy city property. Curitiba solved this common problem in a few ways. One government program that was implemented was free daycare centers any city resident. Another way they solved this issue was to employ these children to occupy their time, simple jobs were given like helping the elderly carry their groceries, cleaning up parks, and helping in community gardens. Unlike American cities that push their poor and homeless away ignoring their issues hoping they would some day disappear, Curitiba attempts to work with the poor and uneducated giving them more opportunities to find employment, housing and a better life.This is what I took the most from reading about this wonderful city in South America, government officials actually working with the people's best interest in mind.