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.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
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.
Here's a great way to get twice the use out of your plastic bottles and keep some of your food fresher.
Friday, October 4, 2013
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.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
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
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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.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
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 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!
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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!
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
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.
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