Paper vs. Pixels

In the book "Packaging Sustainability: Tools, Systems and Strategies for Innovative Package Design," there is a section called "Paper vs. Plastic -- Neither!" It compares the eco-impact of paper to plastic. It got me to thinking: how does the eco-impact of paper compare to the eco-impact of pixels (or, what's the relative eco-impact of reading things in print to reading things online)?

With new gadgets like the kindle and nook, I find myself wondering if this is really an improvement to old-fashioned paper books. Especially after learning about systems thinking in my MCAD class, I am concerned about all the mined, dwindling resources and potentially toxic substances that go into making kindles and nooks. Also, I wonder about all the electricity needed to have books available for download and store them in memory on a server somewhere.

I also have been thinking about online classes. Is it better to read pdfs online, or to print them out and read them with the computer off?

Is this switch to digital, electronic, paper-less information sharing really less harmful than the old-fashioned, printed hard-copy medium?

The Not-So-Big Garden

My garden is beautiful, and I tend to each plant with care. But my garden is small, and it will only produce enough to supplement my diet (that is, one person's diet).

I've been thinking about how much space is needed to grow food to feed a household. One book, The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan, claims you can feed yourself on 1/4 acre. Of course, you have to be really smart about it and make excellent use of the space... and this all requires money (or physical labor, the right equipment, and handy skills) -- not to mention the right land, with the right sun, soil, and irrigation.

Not everyone can have a cute little hobby farm with a great set-up (greenhouse, chicken coop, productive garden, etc.) to grow their own food. Nor does everyone have the skill and physical capacity to take care of a subsistence farm.

So obviously, larger farms are necessary. But the larger the farm, the greater the work, and the less personal attention each plant can receive.

I suspect farmers have a totally different relationship with their crops than city folks do with their gardens. For example, I doubt farmers feel the same emotional attachment to each budding bell pepper that I feel to mine. And I doubt farmers would feel as sad as I did about finding a little green pepper on the ground before it had a chance to ripen.

I'm curious to explore this dynamic more in depth. I wonder: how do people's attitudes towards nature and land change as the amount of space they have and the amount of food they grow increases?

Corny Issues in Organic Farming

When I was visiting Fergus Falls last week, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Bluebird Gardens -- a 175-acre vegetable farm operated by Mark Boen. Bluebird Gardens is well known in the Fergus Falls area as a great example of sustainable farming.

I learned several interesting things from the tour. First, pigs do a great job churning compost so people don't have to do it by hand; Mark keeps them for that purpose. Second, there are a lot of regulations and red-tape that make CSAs difficult and expensive to operate. Third, many people want to buy organic produce in theory, but in practice they often pass over organic produce because it's not in perfect condition.

Actually, I already was aware of this problem with organic produce: sounds great in theory, looks not-so-great in the grocery store. But at Bluebird Gardens, we talked about it more in depth. You see, Mark wants to grow corn organically. However, when he grows corn organically, many ears end up with worms on the inside -- as many as 50%. When he tries to sell the organic corn to consumers, they freak out when they see the worms. It's a Catch-22.

What is a farmer to do? Grow corn organically, which is best for the environment but frequently "repulses" consumers due to the realities of produce grown in harmony with nature and bugs? Or use pesticides, and have nicer-looking produce to sell to a greater number of people?

Sustainable Activism?

Recently, I volunteered at the Animal Rights Coalition booth at the Pride Festival in Loring Park. It was both a great experience -- gay pride! animal rights! -- and a disappointing experience, due to the amount of paper waste I noticed.

I was amazed when I was at the Pride Festival at all the stickers, bracelets, necklaces, papers, temporary tattoos, brochures, magazines, and other advertising trinkets that were being given away. And I was surprised that I got caught up in it. I was told to hand out very liberally brochures and information packets. I was supposed to get as many people as possible to take the literature, even if they didn't know what it was or were likely to throw it away. At first I thought, "what a waste of paper!" But I was a volunteer, and so I did as I was told. Maybe it's what activists have found to be effective.

And the Pride Festival was full of activists. All of them, giving away stickers, marketing trinkets, magnets, book-marks, brochures, etc. Is this really the way change in society is made? By giving stuff away that is likely to be tossed within 24 hours?

I believe in many of the causes represented at the Pride Festival. I believe in animal rights and the Animal Rights Coalition. But I was disturbed that by "doing good" promoting humane treatment of animals and vegan/vegetarian diets, I also was contributing to deforestation, pollution, habitat destruction, and waste.

It seems to me that there needs to be more "integration" between all of these causes. The Animal Rights Coalition believes in helping animals... but using lots of paper indirectly hurts animals because it destroys habitat (forests) and increases pollution.

When will "green" activists, human rights activists, animal rights activists, and other political activists get on the same page in terms of sustainable methods of social change? What would "sustainable activism" look like?

I know there are benefits to handing out info packets, rainbow bracelets, rainbow stickers, and other "pride" paraphernalia. But does there always have to be a trade-off between promoting a good cause and promoting sustainability?

Deodorant | Update

Here's an update on my homemade deodorant -- it works really well! I actually prefer it to commercial deodorants. The only disadvantage is that it's not easy to transport, because to keep it solid it needs to be stored in the freezer.

It's so refreshing, when it's hot out, to take the deodorant out of the freezer and apply the cool paste to my underarms. It smells like a mixture of lavender and tea tree oil, and it feels smooth, soft, and cool.

Elevator Speech

I recently finished the "Elements of Sustainability" course I was taking online from MCAD. Our last assignment was to craft an "elevator" speech telling someone -- someone, that is, who doesn't know or care about sustainability -- what we are doing in our lives to promote sustainability and why it matters. Here is what I submitted:

I'm studying Sustainable Food Production at M State Fergus Falls. It's a brand new program focused on transforming agriculture so that it is better at promoting the health of farmers, consumers, animals and ecosystems.

Currently, industrial agriculture works in conflict with nature in many respects. It is dependent on fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. It is also dependent on vast expanses of monoculture crops and pesticides, which negatively impacts ecosystems by reducing biodiversity.

In the Sustainable Food Production program, I'm learning how to leverage symbiotic relationships, conserve energy, reduce pollution, protect natural habitats, and improve working conditions and incomes for farmers -- all while still growing enough food to support healthy eating for generations to come.

Milk and Oil - Update

Apparently I'm not the only one who thought the law classifying milk as oil was the creative progeny of the Onion.

On the website "Marginal Revolution: Steps Towards a Much Better World," Alex T. states "Local farming advocates says it’s ridiculous to regulate a liquid with a small percentage of butter fat the same way as the now-infamous BP oil spill."

Alex adds: "Seriously, this is not from the Onion."