New Location for Meeting Minutes

We've decided to take the meeting minutes off the blog to keep it from getting cluttered. From now on they will be found here.

You can also check out the Environmental Meeting Minutes and reports.

Video Shared at Sunday's Meeting

The next meeting will be on Sunday the 3rd! Hope yo see you there!

Solar Decathlon and XPO Recap

Today marks the last day of the 2 week long 2013 Solar Decathlon competition at Irvine Great Park. If you didn't have a chance to check out this fantastic event, you're in the right place to learn more and get a taste of some of the ideas that the competitors put out there.

If you're short on time, this video gives a quick overview of what you missed:

The more detailed version:

The Solar Decathlon is a competition that challenges college teams from all around the world to build houses that are affordable, appealing to consumers, and optimally produce and conserve energy (within certain constraints.) The Irvine site (as opposed to the European or Chinese sites) hosted 20 teams this year.

Each team spent 2 years designing and building their houses. 3 weeks ago, the houses were dismantled, shipped to Irvine Great Park, and reassembled for the competition.

The teams competed in 10 areas (thus the name Solar Decathlon):

1. Architecture
Architectural elements such as holistic design, lighting, inspiration, and documentation

2. Market Appeal
Livability, marketability, and buildability based on the target client of each team's choosing

3. Engineering
Functionality, efficiency, innovation, reliability, and documentation

4. Communications
Web content, audiovisual presentation, etc

5. Affordability

6. Comfort Zone
Temperature and humidity ranges

7. Hot Water
Must supply all the heated water for daily needs, including showering and laundry

8. Appliances
Must mimic actual appliance use in a real house

9. Home Entertainment
Includes holding two dinners parties and a movie night for 6 "neighboring" competitors, who act as jurors by awarding points based on ambiance, meal quality, and overall experience.

10. Energy Balance
Must produce more energy than they consume

Each team could earn up to 100 points per category. There was a winner for each category as well as for the overall competition.

The Teams at a Glance:

For more details, please visit their pages and read more!

1. Arizona State University and University of New Mexico
823/1000 points 
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_asu_unm.html
Team website: http://www.asunm.org/

2. Czech Republic: Czech Technical University 
945 /1000 points | 1st place in architecture | 3rd Overall
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_czech_republic.html
Team website: http://www.airhouse.cz/

3. Kentucky/Indiana: University of Louisville, Ball State University, and University of Kentucky
850/1000 points
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_kentucky_indiana.html
Team website: http://sd2013.teamkentuckiana.org/

4. Middlebury College (Vermont)
920/1000 points | Tied for 1st place in Hot Water
This is a liberal arts college!
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_middlebury.html
Team website: http://sd13.middlebury.edu/

5. Missouri University of Science and Technology
840/1000 points
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_missouri.html
Team website: http://solarhouse.mst.edu/

6. Norwich (VT)
876/1000 points | Tied for 1st in Affordability
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_norwich.html
Team website: http://nusd2013.org/

7. Santa Clara University
888/1000 points | 1st in Home Entertainment and Comfort Zone
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_santa_clara.html
Team website: http://www.scuradianthouse.org/

8. Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology
868/1000 points 
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_sci_arc_caltech.html
Team website: http://scical2013.com/

9. Stanford University
933/1000 points | Tied for 1st for Affordability | 5th Overall
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_stanford.html
Team website: http://solardecathlon.stanford.edu/

10. Stevens Institute of Technology
939/1000 points | Tied for 1st in Hot Water, 2nd in Architecture | 4th Overall
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_stevens.html
Team website: http://www.stevens.edu/sd2013/

11. Team Alberta: University of Calgary
913/1000 points | Ranked 1st in appliances
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_alberta.html
Team website: http://www.solardecathlon.ca/

12. Team Austria: Vienna University of Technology
951/1000 points | Ranked 2nd in Market Appeal, Tied for 1st in Hot Water, 1st in Communications | Ranked #1 Overall
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_austria.html
Team website: http://www.solardecathlon.at/

13. Team Capital DC: The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University
920/1000 points | Ranked 2nd for Comfort Zone and Home Entertainment
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_capitol_dc.html
Team website: http://www.teamcapitoldc.org/

14. Team Ontario: Queen's University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College
926/1000 points | Ranked 2nd in Affordability & 1st in Engineering, tied for 1st in Hot Water
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_ontario.html
Team website: http://ontariosd.ca/

15. Team Texas: University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College
776/1000 points
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_texas.html
Team website: http://engineering.utep.edu/

16. Tidewater Virginia: Hampton University and Old Dominion University
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_tidewater_virginia.html
Team website: http://www.canopyhouse.org/

17. University of Nevada Las Vegas
947/1000 points | 2nd in Communications, 1st in Market Appeal, tied for 1st in Hot Water | 2nd Overall
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_lasvegas.html
Team website: http://solardecathlon.unlv.edu/

18. University of North Carolina at Charlotte
870/1000 points
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_north_carolina.html
Team website: http://urbaneden.uncc.edu/

19. University of Southern California
906/1000 points | 1st in Appliances
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_southern_california.html
Team website: http://solardecathlon.usc.edu/

20. West Virginia University
774/1000 points
DOE page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/team_west_virginia.html
Team website: http://solar.wvu.edu/

Be sure to check out http://www.solardecathlon.gov for a full breakdown of every aspect of the competition and the teams including more videos and photos!

You can also check out photos taken at the event by visiting Soka students here.

If you'd like to learn more about sustainable housing, you might like to look into Earth Ships. Last year's Spring Eco Wing won the SSU grant to attend an Earthship workshop in LA, and so they have collected a few resources on the subject, including a full length documentary available for free on youtube. There's also more information at the official Earthship Biotecture website.

-

There was also a green innovation XPO simultaneously happening at Great Park. For obvious reasons, we spent more time exploring the houses, but we did take a few minutes to check out a few of the booths on things like aquaculture gray water filtration for gardens and 3D printing biodegradable plastic forms.

This last one in particular is worth mentioning because it's really cool, potentially scary for some people, and ACTUALLY UNDER WAY RIGHT NOW:

Welcome to the future. What are you going to contribute to it?

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Announces Great Streets Initiative: Video

For anyone who is interested in city planning, urbanism, or CicLAvia, you might enjoy this video:

For more updates like these, check out The Source's blog.

CicLAvia Recap

On Sunday October 6th, students from Professor Deike Peters's Sustainable Cities Class made an appearance at 
CicLAvia.

Although this particular event has come and gone, 

keep your eyes peeled for more CicLAvia events this spring! 

Until then, keep reading for a "Virtual Tour" of our walking tour through LA 

+ fun highlights of the event + informational links provided by Deike + perspectives on what it felt like to walk the streets of LA. 

* The Journey through LA *

This was our route: click me!

1. Caught the metro to LA at Laguna Nigel 

2. Met up at LA's Union Station
The station (and the surrounding area) is currently being redeveloped to better accommodate not only rail users but also bus riders, pedestrians, and cyclists. Find information about this project and the history of Union Station, look here.

3. Walked past LA's busy HistoricPlaza/El Pueblo and Olvera Street
For more information about the history of this part of town, check here.

4. From there we made our way to Chinatown.
Remember that this is LA’s new, (forcibly) relocated Chinatown, as the Old Chinatown was displaced and razed when Union Station was built in the 1930s. We saw the big new ForestCity’s Blossom Plaza mixed use project close to the Gold Line transit station as well as the China Gateway project JiaApartments just nearing completion at Broadway and Cesar Chavez.

5. We crossed the 101 Freeway
and thought about how amazing it would be to cap this great concrete divide and put a park on top, reconnecting the two halves of the city again. Up to date on this ambitious project can be found here.

6. Stopped at the newly opened Grand Park
It opened exactly a year ago and has been named one of the top 10 new open spaces in the country. There was a November 2013 article about it in the NY Times. There were food trucks and activity booths here.

Giant checkers at the games booth

Teaching kids about street safety

A bracelet made at the crafts booth from old bike tubing

7. Photo Op at City Hall 

8. We continued down the route to Spring Street

A remaining strip of the green paint

and saw that the green paint for the Spring Street bike lane had already been mostly scraped off, as the film industry complained about it and won. 

9. On Gallery Row
where there are weekly art walks on Thursday evenings, we marveled at how quiet the streets were without the noise of car traffic. Even the shouting of some of the rowdier cyclists wasn't as intrusive. We didn't feel like we were even in LA!

10. We also found a pocket park
designed by Lehrer Architects, which was created via a public private partnership, with the main initiative coming from the non-profit group Friend of the Old Bank District Gardens, with dedicatedfunding from American Apparel and planning help from the city. The park remains a public facility.

11. Last stop was Pershing Square
where we caught the metro back to Union Station and then caught our train back home.

For more pictures of the Soka excursion to CicLAvia, check out our album on Facebook.

While Soka students were inspired by the change of mood and accessibility on the streets of LA, others were inspired to different ends... Read about a Ciclavia marriage proposal here!

If you want to know more about the event, talk to Deike or the students in her class!

If You Thought Plastic Bottles Were Always BadBadBad,

Think again!

Here's a great way to get twice the use out of your plastic bottles and keep some of your food fresher.

You're welcome.

Art and Education Project in Aliso Viejo: Mural

Hip Hop Congress and Environmental Department are organizing an

Art and Education Project 

for the city of Aliso Viejo. The idea is to paint a mural on the wall under the bike path on Alicia Parkway and Aliso Creek--however, we won't know for sure until we turn in our official proposal with our sketch (see below.) We will design the wall, but the actual event will be open to the Aliso Viejo community and Soka Community to paint the mural.  This event will start in the next month.

 

The purpose of this mural is to:

• promote the use of the bicycle path
• provide a space for community collaboration
• locals about the  history of Aliso Viejo’s native culture
• provide social awareness on environmental  issues
• transform unused space into a visual aesthetic
• bridge the gap between Soka students and local community members
• create a community of pride in Aliso Viejo

If you want to help with the sketch, come to the meeting 

THIS SUNDAY AT 8:15PM 

in Leia's room (building 385, room 317)!

 

For questions contact 

Leia Marasovich or Jennifer Hayashi!

Learning Cluster Highlight: Campus Sustainability with Dr. Robert Hamersley

It's learning cluster season once again! Obviously, this time can provide opportunity to do and see a lot of things abroad... but it could also be an opportunity to look at our home from a new perspective...

"Sustainability means more than a 'green' environmental consciousness. A healthy society and planet has the capability to endure economically, socially, and environmentally. 

What does sustainability mean for universities?

In this learning cluster, we will study campus sustainability on both theoretical and practical levels.

Universities have special roles in promoting sustainability both as educational institutions and as examples for the wider community. Sustainability on campus plays out in academics, operations (the physical impact of the university), 

and in the administration. 

How have other universities worked to become more sustainable? What actions is SUA taking to be more sustainable? What direction should SUA take in the future?

Activities will include meeting with the main players in SUA's sustainability drive, and (if possible) making some field trips to understand how nearby universities have tackled the challenge.

The course will be academically challenging and will encourage students to develop their academic abilities in thinking, learning, and writing about campus sustainability."

(based on my experience in his previous LC)

You will learn a ton, and it will be super rewarding!

Please contact Dr. Robert ( rhamersley@soka.edu ) if you are interested or want to find out more.

October's Green Superstar: Professor James Spady and "Car Repair Philosophy"

Green Superstar

October 2013

Professor James Spady

Maybe you met Prof. Spady through your Amex class, or maybe you haven't met him at all yet. Either way, you might not have known that, in addition to being very knowledgeable about colonialism and early America, he's also a self-taught car mechanic and has eco-modified his 1998 Honda Civic.

In fact, as I sat in his office, I was surrounded by various car parts: a backseat cushion propped against the wall, rear view mirror on the desk, various oily gizmos and gadgets here and there... Shouldn't those be, you know, in the car? Maybe not. It might look a little strange, but there's a method to the madness.

What the 1998 Honda Civic was originally rated:

What Professor Spady's car actually gets: about 60 mpg

Plastic extensions below the doors and over the wheels

Plastic extensions below the doors and over the wheels

How did he do it?

-Streamlining with plastic: covers on top half of back wheels, extensions under doors and front of car, blocked of grills

-Weight reduction (translation: removal of parts)

-Some engine modifications

-Low-gas usage driving technique

As you can imagine, these modifications on the car saves Prof. Spady thousands of dollars a year (and reduces his fossil fuel usage!) However, that's not what makes it most valuable. This is more than a way to "beat the system" and save money--it's a hobby. It's an act of love. Prof. Spady spends at least a few hours a week working on the car, either running maintenance or fixing a problem. That's the part that's most important to him because it provides opportunities for methodical inquiry and meta-thinking. 

To show me what he meant, Prof. Spady told me a couple of car repair stories (while he held rejected parts of the car for me to look at):

Car Repair Story #1 - Methodical Inquiry

The symptom: the Honda began to stall out each time the engine had been running for a while, after the engine had a chance to get hot enough. So, Prof. Spady went hunting around under the hood to find the problem. He systematically came up with theories about what might be wrong and then tested that part. When he finally found a problem with the ignition coil, he purchased a new one--and he only purchased that part.

He could have replaced potential problem-parts with new parts until the car's issues went away. Most people would have...But he didn't. Instead of wasting money on parts without understanding what the problem actually was, he had the fun of deducing what the problem must be and (as a bonus) saved himself from money too.

This process, he said, is like doing good research. Rather than blindly grabbing books with no regard for what type of source it is or what time period it describes, you should find out what types of sources are most important and will give you the best information for the time you spend reading.

Car Repair Story #2 - "Encountering the Car as a Psycho-Spiritual Object"

...But all of us have experienced that moment when you hit the wall in your research. When, say, you find that your sources don't support your original thesis. Then what?

Imagine Prof. Spady stranded on the side of the road. (Insert smoke pouring out of the hood and other movie stereotypes here.) You might expect him to have been frustrated and angry, but he wasn't. He was...perplexed. Curious. 

He had the car towed home (free through AAA), diagnosed the problem methodically, bought the indicated part, installed it, and had the car running normally the next morning. "The key," Spady said, "is patience with the process, acceptance of external facts and their resistance to your desires, and methodical care and labor. The process is essentially the same as any formal inquiry."

The take home message here is that all things change. Change is not only natural but also inevitable. For Prof. Spady and his car, that means analyzing each problem or situation as a unique moment with a unique context.

"Car Repair Philosophy" as Applied in ES-like Capstones

Prof. Spady is not a policy scholar— he's a historian. (He added, “I’m a big fan of machines that burn stuff.”) However, history is concerned with the broad realities of the human experience, which can of course encompass human interactions with the environment. So even though you may know him from the Humanities Department, some of the capstones he has mentored have walked the line between Humanities and Environmental Studies.

One student was interested in the emergence of the organic movement. He encouraged her to look instead at the emergence of the “back to the land”/anti-industrial attitude about food. Like the Honda's slave cylinder and the surrounding parts that could only work together in a specific way, the organic movement was tied to the repercussions of the industrial revolution.

That's just a taste of "car repair philosophy" in action.

All in all, Prof. Spady is not a Save the Whales, hug a Tree! environmentalist or even an Environmental Studies professor, but he's still got his foot in the door. He's been involved with several Environmental Studies-like capstones, and his pet project reduces fossil fuel usage. More importantly, the attitude of lifelong learning that he advocates is exactly what is required to make progress with global environmental concerns we face today.

Prof. Spady loves to share stories, so if you want more of this I recommend sitting down for a chat with him. You can probably tell that he loves to use his car as a teaching tool, so don't be shy about asking if you have more questions about the specifics!

***

 If you know someone who deserves recognition as a GREEN SUPERSTAR in the coming months, please message us below, on Facebook, or at SSU_EnvironmentalDepartment@soka.edu .

The Amazing Vanishing Dishware

Have you noticed forks and cups missing at meal times?

Did you know that if dishes are left in the refuse room they are thrown away? Facilities is not paid to clean up our dirty dishes. It's not a maid service.

Did you know that Bon Appetit spent A LOT of money replacing dishes that disappeared last year? That's a waste of money and resources.

Let's all act like adults so that we will be treated like adults by Soka faculty and staff. Please be responsible and return dishware to the cafeteria, because it belongs to all of us.

Solar Decathlon and XPO at Irvine Great Park

Environmental Department would like to invite you to...

Great Park in Irvine is hosting the 2013 Solar Decathlon, which is a competition between colleges from around the world to build sustainable, solar-powered model houses. There will also be a showing of the solar innovation XPO. Click on the links for more information!

The event goes from October 3rd-6th and 10th-13th from 11 am to 7pm. Soka ED is organizing a trip by bus for Saturday the 12th only, but if you can't make it or you just want more of this great event we encourage you to go on your own on one of the other dates!

The Soka bus will be leaving from the Ikeda steps at 12 noon--please eat brunch beforehand! Pickup will be at Great Park at 3:30 pm to return to Soka around 4:00 pm. There are 25 seats available. Sign-ups are on a first come, first serve basis. Anyone who wants to go must fill out a waiver as per Soka's off-campus trip policy. Waivers must be submitted to Yona by noon on Thursday the 10th.


We recommend that you bring:
-Camera
-Money for food (the Great Park farmer's market goes until 2pm!)
-Sunscreen and/or a hat
-A sweater
-Water

Hope to see lots of you there!

Upcoming Events for the Month of October

Upcoming Events

This page will be updated throughout the month, so keep checking back for updates! 

Click to see full size!

October is Bra Recycling Month

Support the fight against breast cancer 

and 

help divert waste from landfills! 

If you have bras that are gently used or unworn, you can mail them to the 

Bra Recyclers to redistribute to shelters and underdeveloped countries. If your bras are falling apart, send them to the Bra Recycling Agency to be pulverized into carpet padding. If you're feeling crafty and adventurous, you can try making a bra purse. For more ideas for how to reuse your unmentionables, check out this webpage. 

The Soka Instructional Garden (SIG)
Weeding Wednesdays: 4:45 - 5:45 pm every week
Garden Party Sundays: 10 am every week

On Friday the 18th there will also be a celebration of the full moon there, which means music, silliness, and some biodynamic planting! Don't know what this is? Swing by and find out!

Meetings
Sunday October 6th
Sunday October 20th
7:11 pm
Game Room

CicLAvia
Sunday October 6th
Environmental Department can no longer offer transportation for Soka students, but we still encourage you to find a way there to check it out on your own. Find the details here.

The Solar Decathlon at Irvine Great Park
The event goes from October 3rd-6th and 10th-13th
Friday the 11th is the career fair. On Saturday the 12th there will be a bus leaving Soka at noon and returning at 3:30 pm. Waivers must be submitted to Yona by Thursday the 10th. Details can be found here.

Keeep It Wild 

Saturday the 19th

It's down at the canyon's official entrance off the road that's the short cut to Alicia: technically a walkable distance if you're willing to get up early.You have to arrive by 7:50 a.m. in order to be able to start working at 8:00 a.m. since you have to sign a waiver with the rangers each time. Chelsea and Masae are both willing to drive--first come first serve!

Community Symposium 
on Decommissioning SanOnofre

Saturday the 19th

1:30-4:30 pm

For more information check here.

LA Green Festival
Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th
The cost is $10 for a day pass. We are not providing transportation, but we recommend taking the metrolink out of Laguna Nigel if you are interested. Find more information here.