There is No Nature?

 

 Slavoj Zizek on Ecology: Examined Life 2008

Well, It has been far too long since I have had the focus to work on this blog. The idea to cheat and reformat to something that doesn't require daily attention occurred to me. But then I realized that is exactly where part of my falloff comes from.

Living any kind of life takes attention and intention. If I'm going to actually accomplish my goal to live waste free for one week (oh that's easy says my friend Meredith) than I need daily accountability.

Bring in Zizek. This guy has lead me on a whole new path. I showed this clip to my students today followed by a converstaion about if man is separate or part of nature and a screening of the classic Eames Brothers film "Powers of 10"

Many of them agreed that while man is part of nature, then could not concede that urban live, dare I say civilization, is man's natural state.

You decide for yourself. I've got reading to do. 

• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
• Ecology Without Nature by Timothy Morton

Unexpected Bounty

I wasn't expecting to find such a plentiful bounty on my walk over the hill this morning.
I've done the same walk dozens of times without noticing a scrap of edible foliage, but today I totally scored!

• a handful of fresh mint
• two sweet little meyer lemons
• a few fresh sprigs of creeping rosemary
• some raw olives
• a bunch of young wild radish greens

I'm rooting the rosemary and mint to plant on the side of my house, but the greens and lemon sound like a perfect combo for a little snack! Yum!


Check out: neighborhoodfruit.com to find the goodies in your hood.

Never Say Never

Freeganism, Scrounging, Dumpster Diving. Call it what you will.
I always said I would never do it, but that all changed last week..... I did it. I can't believe I did it and at my own job.

That's right folks a dozen lovely little tomatoes that I just couldn't let go.
(Oh and a mango, a lime, a loaf of bread and three sweet potatoes!)

Ok here's the back story:

My new job has me working as an Urban Farming and Sustainability Program Coordinator (yes!) for a midsize non-profit that has, as one part, a cafe'. Since arriving I have been focusing on evaluating which foods can be easily grown for the cafe' in containers in the parking lot as well as modifying the cafe's waste stream to be more sustainable.

For the farm, that means saving food scraps from the kitchen for compost and coffee grounds from the front for our worm bins. The cafe staff has been slowly getting acclimated to the idea of sorting non-animal based (meat & dairy) food scraps from the other waste.

Since it is still a learning process, I spend a lot of time up to my elbows sorting through bag after bag of food waste that have been collected in closed plastic bins outside the back door.

Almost everyday I find a items that I can't quite decipher why they have been tossed. I pull them out, HIDE THEM and take them home to eat.

Honestly, I'm not completely comfortable with this either, but I do have a few standards that I'm sticking with to make sure that I'm more comfortable with taking and eating the food than worried about getting accidental food poisoning.

Items were found as follows:
Tomatoes

• in sandwich boxes separate from other waste

Mango

• on top of food bin

Lime

• in food waste bag, but has a thick skin

Bread

• individual plastic bag on top of other stuff

Sweet Potatoes

• in food waste bag, but will be peeled and cooked

I feel guilty that I am taking home such lovely food when so many others have nothing to eat, but with current laws as they are, this food is illegal.

I feel guilty for taking things from a non-profit that is always struggling to make ends meet, but this stuff has been tossed out.

I feel guilty about feeling too guilty to offer my bounty to others I work with. (I also, don't want to get fired for being a weirdo.)

However, my anonymous friends, I will share my bounty with you on the page. Look for the new FREE line in the daily waste tally starting today.

Here's to a Bicycle Commute

I finally did it! I found a new job and can now ride my bike to work! Hooray! Yeah! Boohyeah!

For the last 2 years I have been living and commuting in LA without owning a car. I clarify "owning" because I have on many occasions taken use of cars belonging to generous friends.(Thanks Bear, Becca and JP)

As of November, I have a new commute. A meager 20 minutes of butt on bike time, I'm leaving my car days long gone!

*ding* LIFE!

It is officially October...and I have fallen way off the waste wagon. What can I say that will truly explain the depths of my departure?

The stresses of not enough time, too many commitments and, as a result, less personal fulfillment have had me in a sleeper hold all summer. Once again, I find myself adrift, battling the waves of waste created by the fast-paced urban lifestyle.

King Convenience is a dictator that will run/ruin the world.

It's amazing how easily I have fallen back into the abyss of the paper coffee cup, forgotten the forests cut so that I may dry my hands and wipe my nose. Worse yet, I've let beautifully grown food waste away without even a savored nibble of appreciation for the hard labor of so many in its production.

So how to begin again? Slowly and with honest intent and attention. Stay tuned! I'm back in action!

Day 18: Oh Vanity

Just when I think I've finally gotten past the worst of it, I take a moment to peek under my bathroom sink to discover---dun dun dun!---enough personal hygiene products to cleanse, deodorize, supplement, wax and make up a small nation.

Shit! How am I supposed to get rid of this stuff?

I start sorting and I quickly realize that I have a lot of 1/2 used bottles of basically the same thing. Sunscreen, deodorant, lotion, face powder, shampoo etc. I sort these by category and start to look at what I can safely consolidate and realize that 1/2 of these products are expired and need to be tossed.

Ok. Not so bad considering that I have been buying only organic and natural ingredient products for quite some time. I take a chance and dump the expired herbal supplements into the compost, a bit of expired lotion in the trash and the containers in the recycle bin.

The rest of the stuff I am putting in a box that will be my personal, in house drugstore until it's all gone. I don't know what else to do.

One cool thing did come out of this! Upcycle project #3. Check it out.

Peanut can be reborn as my make up and brush organizer!
(eyeshadow and lipstick inside)

Day 17: Waste Tally

Transportation:

• walk to train to carpool with 1 person
• lift to bus to train to walk

Solid Waste
Reuse
Recycle
Compost

• 1 tea bag
  

Trash

• average amount of TP