live sustainably

of Put Your Presents Where Your Politics Are is underway.

This is a pretty simple concept I came up with last year and was able to follow through on: every holiday gift I gave was either locally-made, fair trade, made by me, or benefitted a worthy cause. Last year in Ithaca it was easy – with Spirit & Kitsch, 10,000 Villages, and the Peace & Justice Gift Shop all right on the Commons, just for starters! This year in Burlington I think it will also be very doable, although I don’t have the familiarity with what’s available, I’ve been asking around.

The point should be apparent – it’s hardly an option in our culture to not spend any money during the holiday season, and it really is fun to give and receive gifts. But why spend money on one more thing my friends and family don’t really need? I want the gifts I give to be functional for the receiver, as well as for the producer. I love supporting local businesses and artisans, so the holidays are the perfect dare-to-be-great opportunity to exercise my commitment to sustainability. In addition, when giving the gift, I explained my project, therefore spreading the know, and the appreciation for the gift.

So I want to switch from incandescent light bulbs to all CFL’s, right? I decided to buy one today since I was already near the hardware store, just to check it out. They’re normally $3.99, but when I got to the register they were on sale for 99 CENTS!!!WHAAAAT?! So of course I went back and grabbed a few more!! An unexpected bonus!!

Started my compost bin today!! So excited!

Okay, so I live in an apartment in the middle of a city, and I’m trying to compost. I’ve been searching online, but everything either costs hundreds of dollars, or has bags and filters I would have to keep buying!!
I’m looking for a cheap, small-scale kitchen compost system. Anyone in a similar situation? What do the rest of you do?

So, I spent the last two weeks working at an overnight camp I’ve worked at off and on since high school. If anyone isn’t familiar with Odyssey of the Mind (OM) or Destination Imagination (DI), it’s a creative problem-solving program for students that takes place throughout the school year. The camp is like an off-season scrimmage version of the program, with lots of different problem-solving activities, as well as a “long-term” challenge over the course of the week.

This summer I designed and executed a “Food Waste Challenge,” where each table weighed their food waste at the end of the meal and the group with the least was the winner. I was REALLY excited to do it, and the first week it went reeeally well! (MY bunk won, with only 3 napkins as waste!!) HOWEVER, the second week, a counselor came up to me and in front of the campers told me what a horrible activity it was, and “this is not the time to teach them this.” I was stunned!! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING AT CAMP?!? WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO LEARN IT?? They’re in middle school, they should be intelligent enough to gauge how hungry they are, and put the proper amount of food on their plates. And these kids are generally smarter than average – surely they can grasp this concept!

Connected to that, I realized how classist this and many other summer camps are – a week of camp is EXPENSIVE!! And these upper middle class kids come with 5-10 rolls of different colored duct tape, which cost anywhere from $5-$8 a roll, and they use them to make wallets and bags!

I just became really disillusioned with this program that meant SO much to me all through middle and high school, and I’m struggling to find my place in something that goes against so many of my values. It’s SUCH a good program for the kids though, which is why I’m wrestling so much with it. One part of me is just so pained to be part of something creating so much waste over just one week, but the more rational part of me says I should stay involved, and help create the change I want to see. I’m writing out the food waste challenge so that even if I don’t return, the challenge might continue. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with some other programs to curb waste. Anyone familiar with the program, I’d LOVE to hear your input…

For anyone looking for easy little ways to start leading a more sustainable existence, I recommend checking out www.idealbite.com. They’ve got daily tip emails that are a great source for little pointers and suggestions on living green – food, travel, products, services, etc. If any of you know of other good websites, I’d love to know!