The Mango and the Snow: A Tale of Moderation

It is really cold here now, and we finally have snow. I think we haven't been out of the teens for several days now, pretty cold for December, but at least now it is wrapped in the peaceful white blanket of winter. Better than cold and just brown ground, which we had a few days ago.

I purchased a couple of hard mangoes several days ago. Each day I have been checking them to see if they are ready to eat. Today one was ready. It is not a local mango. They do not grow them here in Michigan, even in hoop houses! I guess it is a good thing that I was born after technology had gone far enough to bring mangoes to my Ypsilanti door, and any other citrusy fruit that saves us from scurvy!!! in the middle of winter.

I say this because I am, of course, known for my support of local food. And I do support the movement. I just made the first winter veggie roast the other day. It is so satisfying to have the heft of the root vegetables in a balsamic glaze when the weather is frigid. I even added some sweetness with maple syrup this time. All the veggies were local, either from the Ypsi Food Co-op or the AA farmer's market. I even make an effort to buy it from the farmer who IS growing it in hoop houses in Riga, Michigan.

But citrus, or mangoes are not on his or any other farmer's list.

So am I being bad?

I suppose to some die hards I am. That is okay. No one is perfect, and few if any are totally sustainable. I am okay with that. Here is the reason why.

Back in the day when i lived in LA I remember that everyone had their own "correct" and "healthy" diet, and few were tolerant of any one elses definition of healthy.

"What? you are serving meat?" I don't think anyone I knew when I left was still eating meat. when the average American eats nearly 200 pounds of meat annually, the vegetarian stance can be pretty radical to the rest of America.
"OMG how can you have dairy items that have rennet?"
"Tell me please that you aren't serving fruits mixed with your vegetables?"
"What no Soy milk for my coffee?"

It was getting so that I was afraid to cook anything. I was going to offend someone. Give me a break! (but of course they didn't). So I decided that this high than thou attitude had to end. I was going to serve what I was going to serve. nothing wrong with some moderation.(Can't we all get along?) If you don't like it, then don't come. Fortunately I had help.

My dissertation topic was hog CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). Hard to be writing on that when you were a vegetarian. And the Oklahoma farmers where i was doing my research were very aware when I came to call. A woman from LA? Working on CAFOs? They (rightly) feared I was a member of PETA, and would slice through their world with a cleaver that is very specific to their milieu. But I was coming from that place I mentioned earlier in this missive. I believe in moderation in all things. i had to see the world through their eyes. their world was just a little bit different than the soy milk world of LA. And it was a good thing had had that attitude because the farmers were no fools.

The first thing they would do when we started to know one another is invite me to lunch. while I appreciated sharing the meal, what they really wanted to know was: DID I EAT MEAT?

I was newly recovered from a bout of vegetarianism. One had a hard time not being vegetarian as some point in their life while living in LA, but i was never hard core. Even in the depths of one of my bouts, if I found myself near some BBQ ribs, I was in trouble. Moderation.

So when I moved to Michigan to teach at EMU, I came as a moderate in my food concerns. I am even now pretty radical for Michigan, (the other day I was trying to find some barley to make a barley soup and the grocery clerks at the market didn't even know what barley was. "Is is a fruit?" It turned out this big box market had NO barley. What is this world coming to? I should have purchased it at the coop) but I am sure that unless LA has changed radically itself (I don't think so) I am a moderate.

Good. I should be moderate in some ways. It is not a bad thing. And it allows me to eat mangoes in the snow.

Sometimes it is okay to be a moderate.

Tribute

I am busy. The excellent and well written article that Geoff Larcom wrote about me in the Ann Arbor News has brought attention to me and to the things that I, and as it turns out, several others on campus are concerned about. I think that is such as good thing. No longer do I feel alone on campus, but there are opportunities that can now be shared by those who care about making EMU a better campus. So thank you Geoff, and thanks to all of those who are also working to bring EMU into the light and making it more sustainable. I am excited to see what the future will bring.

Energy Awareness Week - Mountaintop Removal

Energy Awareness Week has been a success. Last time I held this event it was embarrassing, and could still be considered so in other venues, but for EMU we did well. Next year will be better yet. We have had some wonderful events and speakers during the week (more to come on another post). But right now I would like to focus on my friends doing the good fight against mountaintop removal (MTR), a dastardly process of cutting the tops off mountains to get to the coal, and then filling valleys to create "flat land," in the middle of Appalachia. In the process the coal companies are destroying one of the few remaining traditional cultures in America. Shame. No respect for the land, the mountains, the wildlife, the people.

We were fortunate and had the MTR roadshow give two excellent presentations, educating faculty and students alike to the reality of our electricity - 60% of Michigan's electricity is produced by coal - the dirtiest fossil fuel out there. It is past time to become sustainable, it is time to conserve, to shut off my computer.

More of those sad times

Just received an email regarding the meeting of the Board of Regents and their lack of action. (However, in my opinion, this is like the pot calling the kettle black). Highlights of the email are:

If it is discovered that the University violated federal law in this matter, then the President should not be allowed to continue to lead Eastern Michigan University. We cannot have leaders of this university who mislead students, faculty, and community about vital safety and security issues. Nor can we accept top leadership that knows nothing about an issue of such importance.”

Professor Mark Higbee presented a very powerful speech to the Board, where a letter that was signed by several faculty members was presented. The most relevant passage of the letter is: “Poor leadership at the top of the Administration has needlessly,
repeatedly, and seriously harmed EMU in recent years. Events of the last six months and new disclosures convince us that Dr. John Fallon is ill suited to run the University. He should be removed for cause immediately.”

The situation demands action, and the AAUP is now developing a survey on the leadership of John Fallon and other top administration officials. We also await the final report from the Department of Education, which is due out in the very near future.

What is very important to note is that the events surrounding this murder has become a true national story, and it puts the university in a terrible light. If you watch the video of today’s Good Morning America broadcast, you will get a sense of how EMU is currently viewed:

To see the news story go to:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3297153&page=1

To see the video, go to:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/gma
Click on top stories
Scroll down to:
Campus Murder Cover-up? School Blamed
On the right is a little link for the video.
Click on it and you will see it.

EMU needs to clean up more than its image. It need to "get clean" by adopting what hundreds of schools across America have already seen: to become sustainable and teach our students about how they will live healthy lives in their future. It is time to get rid of the old and bring in a new and forward thinking administration and Board of Regents to give the students, faculty, and staff a new lease on life in a school devoid of its past corruption. We can begin with an environmental audit. (See May 10 post)

Sad Times at EMU

The University house was built for $6 million. The budget was $3 million and we were promised that no general or student funds would be used. They lied. Though the President did resign (with a full compensation package) we still have appointed regents, who "good old boy'd" the building, much to the chagrin of the university community.


Eastern Michigan University has had more than its share of problems. From the over priced and illegal use of funds for the President's house, resigning administrators and regents, unrepresented administrative appointments, lack of accountability, cuts, cuts, cuts to our budget, and now a cover up about a student's death on campus. Last December Laura Dickinson was brutally raped and killed in her dorm room, and the administrators chose to cover up rather than reveal the ugly truth.

School officials will not say why they kept silent. But some parents and people in the community believe administrators endangered students in an effort to protect the university's image.

And exactly what image is that?


This is unfortunately, run of the mill at EMU. It isn't because of the students or the faculty, but very poor choices of administrators and regents. Unfortunately again, we have no choice in the matter - the regents are political appointees, and the administrators are chosen by them. Something has been rotten in Ypsi for wayyyyyy too long.

If you can't tell by now, it is time for a change on many levels, and certainly the way our school has been run. The students at the very least (who pay about $7,000 annually for old buildings, poor technology, and overworked faculty) deserve much more than they are getting.

What is ticking me off about this today? The sad story of the murder has gone from local, to Grand Rapids, to the Chronicle of Higher Education to the LA Times- the front page of the LA Times today. Great. Just what we need.

Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer. I have written you before, and now I ask again. Can we choose our own Regents? Can we have a say in our own destiny? Can we make a University where we are proud? Can we have accountability? Too many of my colleagues are so unhappy with what has happened at our school. But I for one, will sign my name to a demand for accountability and justice at EMU.

If we spent our money in a sustainable and, dare I say, honest fashion, instead of the skullduggery we have experienced, we could be a model of hope, instead of a model of desperation. I suppose our students are learning from these errors, but why not go toward the new paradigm, and support education, and a sustainable quality of life? Why not teach our students about the way we should be going, about the hope and joy of attaining your ideals, instead of teaching them the about a lack of care, broken promises, and corruption?

Let's end the wretched unsustainable model we have been tied to, one dedicated to ignoring students, faculty, and spending money without accountability - and move on to a sustainable healthy, happy, and honest life.

Gardens

At Appalachian State University in North Carolina they have strong sustainable development and interdisciplinary programs, AND, they have a garden maintained by students.

When I first arrived at EMU in 1999 there was a beautiful greenhouse that was being dismantled in favor of I don't know what, but it sure wasn't in favor of a garden. I was dismayed to hear this happening at the time and still don't understand the decision. Growing a greenhouse garden at EMU would help cut down on transportation costs, fossil fuel burning, and of course, provide students, faculty and administrators with healthy food, something in short supply.

Gardens have many advantages at a school. They are a ready source for food and landscape compost, gets students involved with nature, improves nutrition, just tastes good, and teaches students about where their food comes from! I have experienced having students over to my home for dinner and they have told me they never had a meal cooked from scratch before. It seems unbelievable to me, but true. There is so much to learn. Our health costs are going up, up, up and still people don't eat healthy - such an easy beginning to a more healthy life.

Lights On

I visited my office yesterday afternoon. A Sunday. Memorial Day weekend. No one around. The lights were on. I turned them off. I don't know who is leaving the lights on like this on a holiday weekend, but with the economy and the budget the way it is we do not have to leave electricity on during the weekend, on holidays, or in areas that do not require it. All the hall lights were on too, even though it was broad daylight. Even if they HAVE to leave them on for safety, all they have to do is install some motion sensors and they can save a lot of money.

This is the light switch in one of the rooms that were lit. All the lights switches have these stickers on them, but obviously they are not respected.

When I left the building all the lights were off in the interior offices and classrooms that I have access to. I turned off several of the hall lights as well, though I did leave the stairwells lit (they could also use light sensors [http://www.wattstopper.com/ for example]). This is an easy and cost effective way toward sustainability.

The Beginning of Persistence

Today, after months of thought, I "came out," and showed my sustainable colors. I am just tired of dealing with my office being 90 degrees in summer, and 50 degrees in winter because of antiquated and inefficient HVAC systems at Eastern Michigan University. I am tired of continually living in this completely unsustainable state and school and reading about how the school messed up again. There has to be a better way. I hope that with the help of other faculty and students we can make Michigan and EMU a better place to live.


My central focus will be making EMU a sustainable school, to bring it to the environmental and energy standards that all of America has finally become aware of (about time). My secondary focus is the number of ways that a normal, not wealthy person, can live a fairly sustainable life. As far as the school goes, well I hope others at EMU also believe. With that in mind I went to school today.

What I did today was discuss sustainability with a number of people on campus. It seemed to go well, but, persistence will be the name of the game. To me, it is how can anyone NOT endorse making the school healthier for themselves, and at the same time cutting our dependence on non-renewable energy?

More than 90 % of our energy in America is non-renewable, inefficient and therefore, polluting. Our dependence on fossil based fuel has put us in a hated war, blown up mountains in Appalachia, influenced global warming, and fouled our air, land, and water. It is time. It is time. It is time.

To me, it is a no-brainer, but, well, not everyone thinks like me. But maybe there is support out there, people who also think that our school can improve and make it a happy and healthy place to work.

The first step is an environmental audit, an analysis of various systems on campus from an environmental POV: measuring quantitatively and qualitatively the following and any others I have not thought of (please let me know what else to think about here):

• building design
• energy usage
• transportation
  
• food
  
• recycling
  
• water
  
• paper
• solid waste
• hazardous materials
• air quality
  
• environmental literacy
  

I have heard this may be a difficult accomplishment at EMU, but if I don't start, if others do not believe in this, then it will never happen. Once the audit is done it will be published, and the next step is working with the school to make the necessary improvements if any are called for (!)