If You Can't Feed it to Your Dog, Don't Feed it to the COW

Here are some rules of thumb to abide by when feeding an anaerobic digester. It may not be as cute as a Jersey Cow, but it is more rewarding.

DO Feed: Lettuce, salad, fruit, pasta, banana peels, orange rinds, egg shells, bread, coffee grounds (Starbucks run! but not for un cafe latte), tea bags, and juices. 

Please DON'T Feed: Plastic, wood, paper, metal, glass, containers, bones, pits, rinds, styrofoam, cobs, and alcohol. 

So as you can see, if you are a dog owner experienced in dishing out table scraps, you know that everything on the "don't" list is everything that will send your dog to the vet at 3 o'clock in the morning. And that will send out digester into an early retirement. So just think of our machine as your puppy. 

Another thing to consider is that meat/dairy must be separated from other food resource for health reasons and for the fact that meat must be rationed to the digester.  So come January when we have our bins in the dining halls to collect food scraps, look out for our "vegan" and "meat lovers" bins.

One last note, congratulations to the Food2 Joules Team who won 3rd place at the Panasci competition!  Way to move the team and the idea forward!

With your daily dose of dog feeding know-how,

-Elysa

Your Green FoodPrint!

It's tough to eat green on a meal plan. No, scratch that, it's really, really, REALLY tough.  However, there are still things you can do to eat green on campus. Plus, eating green can also mean saving green and losing some freshman 15 (the rhyming was not intentional).  

First, limit your intake of red meat.  There are so many negative side-effects for you AND for the environment linked with the consumption of meat.  For instance, the environment suffers because in order to sustain high demand, cattle are raised on grain (instead of grass) which must be fertilized with harmful synthetic fertilizers, and depletes a lot of nutrients in the ground.  In addition, cows give off a lot of methane- which is the most potent greenhouse gas. And yes, the methane that comes from cows comes from their farts. 

In addition, overcooked meat can often house carcinogens (cancer-causing compounds) and have high amounts of saturated fat, which isn't good for your heart or your waist.  

So choose chicken instead- it's raised on grass and has a shorter lifespan, so less energy goes into sustaining the life of a chicken.

Second, hit the salad bar! Our dining halls strive to offer produce that is in season. Also, Syracuse Dining carries some foods that are local- including those delicious apples, cheese curds, apple cider, Byrne Dairy products, and Crowley yogurt (high in protein, calcium, and really good with granola).  

Nonetheless, if you really aren't satisfied with dining hall food, Syracuse University also offers students, faculty, and the community a farmers market from the beginning to the end of summer that is located in the Waverly Avenue parking lot.  The food is incredibly fresh, cheap, and delicious.  And once you get a lot of it, it can be frozen and eaten in the winter months. Here's a tip: frozen blueberries make a terrific topping for cereal, filling for a crumble or pie, or even a great topping for ice cream when cooked in a pan with strawberries, a bit of sugar, vanilla extract, and some honey.

Hopefully, it's clear by now that you can eat sustainably (and deliciously) without having to eat grass.  

Happy munching!

-Marissa

What a Day

Great News from the COW meeting today!  The group received a grant from the  SEP, which means that the digester is no longer a figment of our energetic brainstorm meetings but a reality in progress. This summer the team will be working to build a 1/5 scale digester that  will be powered by food resource provided by our very own Sheraton hotel. The employees at the hotel are stoked to be involved in this initiative, going to show that these ideas are on their way to the main stream! 

Wegmans, the giant of the east, is also interested in the idea and we hope to see a digester functioning next to every Wegmans in the future. 

Lindsay had the great idea to use this blog to gain support for the Climate meetings that will take place in December in Coppenhagen.  We will be sure to keep you updated on any initiative pertaining to political causes.

Very importantly, though, today's meeting generated an idea that could get everyone involved. Including you.  The CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) of New York could become a valuable resource for our digesters. The farmer raises his produce organically, thus any scraps from the farm are organic. That material may go through a digester and the resulting effluent is also organic, which means that it is qualified to be used as fertilizer for that organic farm. Talk about  cradle to cradle genius. But the important part of this idea is that it involves Community.  The consumer that purchases produce from the farmer can have a hand in this by supplying his or her own scraps. That consumer is learning about the innovative way to dispose of valuable food scrap and is now thinking about the life cycle of his or her food. And that farmer is helping an interdisciplinary university initiative.  Gee, everyone could get involved. Lets have your cousin's friend's brother jump on this idea while we are at it. 

Building a community is an important part of sustainability and it is becoming an  important part of living. In this day and age we can accomplish anything on the internet.   We can buy clothes, order food, swap building plans, purchase insurance, manage our banking, and educate ourselves. In that regards do we ever need to leave the wall outlet? YES. The one thing that we cannot do via internet is build a relationship with a community and learn how to live.  By getting involved we are opening our eyes to the realities of the world and escaping this Wall Street disillusionment that has corroded some of the foundations of this country. You and I have the power to mitigate this, right here in Syracuse, by pitching in and rebuilding a community. Small steps, but large results. So check out that farmers market down on Waverly. Support the CSA in your area. Or even just help us compost in the dining halls. Whatever you decide, the community applauds you. And hey, food's involved. I'm there. 

With your daily dose of zen,

-Elysa

In need of LEED

On Tuesday, I had the good fortune of being able to visit one of the most spectacular construction sites in New York.  No, a 175,000 square foot dark chocolate factory was not being built (unfortunately).  But it may be something even better: It's going to be a LEED platinum structure called the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental Energy and Systems headquarters building. 

If you're confused, or can't even read the entire name of the structure without getting distracted, it's O.K.  Here are a few basic facts about LEED to help you get started:  First, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It's a rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that gives certain levels of certification to buildings based on how environmentally sustainable they are.  At the most basic level of LEED certification, buildings must meet criteria that specify certain requirements for water efficiency, renewable energy use, sustainable materials used, and indoor environmental quality.  The levels that can be specified include basic LEED certification, LEED bronze, LEED silver, LEED gold, and LEED platinum.

So, what is so fantastic about the Center of Excellence Building near the Warehouse in downtown Syracuse?

Well, I'll just share a bit of the few juicy details that my tour guide told me.  

The building is going to have a green roof, meaning that it will feature a garden on the roof with plants (called "seedums") that will absorb rainwater to help stem significant amounts of runoff into the storm drains.  In addition, the building uses a soy-based foam as insulation, which happens to be more earth-friendly than other synthetic substitutes (the workers said you could probably eat it, but I'll save the soy for tofu in my dinner).  The windows also have a really neat coating on them, which consist of millions of tiny white dots to help control the amount of light that can warm or cool the building.  As for the last tidbit I'll share with you, the building will feature huge labs for students and scientists alike to test different modes of construction and the structural integrity of buildings and houses, in addition to studying how to make these sorts of buildings more sustainable.  And I think learning is the best part of the entire process!

I hope I've sated your LEED appetite.  

Keeping you updated on the green scene always,

-Marissa

Take a Closer Look

Lets take a closer look at the new dorm on campus: the Ernie Davis Dorm.  Expecting a LEED Silver rating, the dorm uses structural, mechanical, and orientation techniques to achieve a more environmentally sustainable building. Thanks to a class site visit, I was able to don a hard hat and follow a project manager through the site.  

So here are some points that I found: although the building will not utilize a green roof as expected, it will comply with LEED standards and use a white roof, which will effectively reflect sun rays (the few that actually hit this tundra we call Syracuse).  The air conditioning will be through a convective system, which uses water to aid the transfer of heat. This should make environmentalists feel a little less guilty about living in such a lavish building. Next, the daylighting!  The dorm will take advantage of those (too few yet glorious) sunny Syracuse days through the implementation of large expanses of glazing on the west and east sides of the first two floors. The lounges on every floor have three large windows and the second floor even boasts a sun roof.  (Depicted in the third picture). 

I absolutely can't wait to walk through the completed building, and am grateful that the university has not turned a blind eye to environmental initiatives. But lets let the next building be platinum:)

-Elysa

Talking Dirt with Brenda Lotito

Worms!  I used to have a phobia of them and then I grew used to them. Tonight I gained a whole new appreciation for the little squigglers as I learned that one pound of worms can chow down a half pound of food a day. And their compost (waste, effluent... they're all euphemisms for worm poop) is some of the richest known compost to the natural world.  Brenda Lotito has turned worm business into well, an actual business.  Her book, The Dirt on Worm Farming, spills the details on how to compost in your own house with a worm box.  Thanks to NYPIRG: Marissa, I, and a room of people were able to learn what makes and breaks this worm composting unit. Basically, a wooden box of newspaper (carbon), red worms, compostable material (nitrogen), and attention to (many) details will render you heaps of compost for your garden.   (Visit upstatewormfarms.com to learn more about composting, and feel free to contact us for information or for tips.) 

I knew that microbes, worms, nematodes, and all the little critters of life completed the food cycle, but who knew that people could facilitate this process even further?  Of course we can compost, but now we can breed worms and turn our food scraps into mulch.

I know what I will be doing this summer. First, I will be sure to avoid having food scraps. (Already started this and so should you! Did you know that the average person creates 4.6 lbs of food waste a day?!  Do as I learned from the Italians and take less, eat it all, and be content with an empty plate.)

But food scraps are inevitable (carrot peels, anyone?). So instead of dumping the scraps off to the landfill, I will convince my fisherman father that he should put those worms to work!  Feed 'em, Breed 'em, and maybe put a few on the kiddie poles for some bluegills.  

With your daily scoop of dirt,

-Elysa

On Our Way....From Misery to Happiness

When I joined SIFE's COW (Conversion of Organic Waste, to be described below) Team, I had every intention to make some sort of improvement in this degraded world, but I was not sure by which means I would do that. During one particularly invigorating brainstorm meeting, I realized: this is too awesome to be contained in this room.

A conversation is a mighty tool, and a conversation is the path that I am embarking on with this blog. So I will be sharing with you what I learn, and Marissa and I anticipate to hear and learn from you. 

I am writing this just having come back from one of those motivating green building conferences, one held by ESF. I am always invigorated to hear professionals lecture on ideas that I am passionate about, and would like to share one idea with you. Our country isn't necessarily happy. On our quest for satisfaction we have invested in materialism only to deviate ourselves from our goal. And between the environmental epidemic and the economic crisis, our country needs a complete overhaul.  According to Bill McKibben (who was not actually at the conference, but lets get him on campus soon), one way to get back on track is to reconnect with our community. I don't know about you but I think we have a pretty swell community here at SU/ESF. But what can we do to really push the envelope? Work together towards sustainability. Lets not leave it to a select few. Lets all work on it. Together. 

Although the future is full of uncertainties, we do have control over our actions. Just as we have the power to converse over the internet we have the power to recycle or compost. Or to take ourselves to the extent of our imaginations to initiate the greatest change this country has ever seen. So through this dialogue I want to give you the power of catching up on the latest happenings in campus sustainability so that you can make decisions... or start some initiatives if you wish. 

So one initiative that I ask you to help us with is composting. The COW Team hopes to build an anaerobic digester for the campus that will convert organic matter (dining hall leftovers) into methane (energy) and organic fertilizer. The machine will be housed under a greenhouse that will act as a living machine: one that creates its own energy and is conducive to plant life. But we need your help. The more awareness and support that this idea gains, the more likely it will become a reality. 

So lets take the advice of the Proclaimers and move from misery to happiness. From accumulation of waste to a community that creates its own energy. From a simple action to a fundamental shift in values. Sounds happy to me. 

-Elysa