This post will serve as the medium through which students in the Summer 2010 quarter can provide updates on the group work and research that they’re doing to prepare for their interview and/or to write their essay. Updates can include:
- ** Identifying noteworthy research findings, such as new concepts, facts, stories, projects, etc.
** Bringing to light useful research methods or sources
** Expressing preliminary comparisons and contrasts between different sources
** Seeking guidance to help make sense of a source or help find relevant connections between sources
** Asking for help to resolve research dead-ends
This comment thread will, ideally, also provide students the opportunity to process some of their research findings in writing. I’ve consistently found it beneficial to jot down thoughts spurred by new information I’ve uncovered. Expressing in writing comparisons, contrasts, and other relevant points often helps me work-through my ideas on the topic which, in turn, helps me compose more appropriate interview questions and more coherent essays.
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Sustainability History Project 
I am researching a local bank and its efforts to be sustainable. Though my research is still in the beginning stages, I have already begun to see new innovative approaches to sustainability that the bank has implemented. I typically do not think of banks as being sustainable (maybe in part because of past and current crisises). Banks are typically associated with the economy, but my research has been into the social and environmental aspects of sustainability within banks. So far my research has been eye opening since I learned about the positive social responsibility initiatives and environmental contributions the specific bank I have been researching is implanting in the Portland area and along the West Coast. I am not anywhere near forming a concrete conclusion about how sustainable a bank can be, but my research so far has given me a new appreciation and understanding of the banking world. Also, using the three pillars has provided a great way of looking at sustainability for this issue because banks can be looked at in terms of the economy as well as social equity and the environment.
My research centers on Energy Efficiency as a way towards sustainable energy consumption and production. I have been looking at the Bonneville Power Administration and their attempts to bring energy efficiency to the for-front of how to conserve the Northwest’s water supply and protect the environment, while still supplying the region with cheap and reliable energy. I have learned a great deal about energy efficiency and how BPA and other organizations see it as a conservation method. However, I am still doubtful as to how successful a program in energy efficiency can be. It requires a great deal of public involvement and participation, which is always a challenging road. Trying to find the balance between those who want more energy for less, with those who want better ecological protection is a constant battle. The three pillars of sustainability are in a constant battle for importance, and it is efforts like the BPA’s Energy Efficiency department that are trying to bring them more into balance than battle. There is a lot of optimism for the success and possibilities of energy efficiency and how it can make our society more sustainable.
I am currently researching two brothers and the self sufficient home they are building in inner SE Portland called The Commons. As I continue to research Dustin and Garrett Moon I am amazed at what they’ve been able to accomplish. It has been a real eye opener what two people can achieve through perserverance and tenacity. Without having to rely on a large architechtural firm or a sustainable development organization, these two have surpassed the sutainability indicators as defined by LEED and are doing so under their own steam. Both Dustin and Garrett work to bring in the estimated funding called for to complete the building and provide the manual labor needed for construction; although Dustin is more involved with the physical aspect of development and Garrett with the fundraising. In researching these two and their installations in The Commons, i.e. clay floors, composting toilet- it has lead me to wonder if traditional building techniques can be married to the needs of modern society on a larger scale (such as multi-unit housing or a skyscraper) in a functional and sustainable manner. If The Commons is an indicator I would think that this sort of development technique would be a boon to sustainable development in the future.
I’ve spent the last week reading everything I could find on the subject of urban aquaculture and aquaponics. I didn’t have any idea about the advancements that have been made in the past couple of decades in this field. I spent the first portion of this term reading about the depletion of the oceans’ fish stocks and all the bureaucracy and logistical chaos involved with formulating any type of plan that would allow the ecosystems of the ocean to rebound and once again thrive. There were some solutions that seemed feasible, but probably would not meet the demand’s of the ever-growing demand for seafood by the Earth’s population. Urban Aquaculture seems to be the most sustainable approach I’ve heard of. Urban aquaculture is the raising of fish in a recirculating water system that is paired with biofilters and hydroponics to raise vegetation and produce energy(via methane) to run the pumps. If implemented correctly by enough people it could provide a sustainable and in-demand food product that would also give the world’s oceans time to recover from near-decimation. It can be done totally organically, and is being put into practice in some pretty cool ways. The most grassroots approach (and my personal favorite) has to be Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Go to http://www.growingpower.org. It will blow your mind what the founder, Will Allen, has achieved. Aquaculture is just one of many cool and sustainable things he’s doing. He composts millions of pounds of waste a year, raises chickens, has outdoor organic plots and an apiary… too much to list. I hope this is what the future of food production looks like.
Ha. My girlfriend just met with these guys today and might potentially be doing a landscape for them.
My research centers broadly on the concept of sustainable building and renovation, particularly on the goals of one group, called Architecture 2030, which has the goal of “carbon-neutral” architecture by 2030 (and in stages up to then). Green architecture and landscaping has been an interest of mine since my teens, when I first worked for a company that built alternative housing and landscaping elements, called rammed earth.
My research will examine how realistic the goals are, how and whether they fit into sustainability as a whole, and how compatible it is with building in various climates and in developing nations.
I am researching a local auto-repair shop. The repair shop uses some sustainable practices such as loaning bicycles to customers while their vehicle is in the repair shop. In addition, the shop converts diesel engines to run off vegetable oil. I thought these practices benefit the local community, and would benefit people interested in the oral history interviews we will be conducting.
My research paper focuses on alternative forms energy such as ethanol made from corn, and whether corn based ethanol is considered “sustainable” when analyzed through a particular definition of “sustainability”. The US government championed corn based ethanol as a viable and valuable resource to replace America’s dependence on foreign oil, but the fuel isn’t without its controversy. The land cleared for new corn crops releases large amounts of carbon which may offset the benefit of the fuel. Corn crops require large amounts of water, but the water might be better used on other agricultural crops that can feed people. I think this essay will highlight the difficulty in establishing what is a “sustainable” practice and what is not, and showcase the importance of looking past the exterior what we believe is already sustainable and understand the subject – corn-based ethanol – in its true depth and complexity, because it may not be “sustainable”.
My research is on Join: connecting the street to a home. Join goes out and helps the homeless get off the street and into proper housing. They also help them find a job. Join maintains relationships with the homeless to determine the best way to house the homeless. The relationships also help the homeless become an active part in the community that they are in. I will be looking at Join’s practices to determine how, if they are, sustainable. Based on the research I’ve gathered Join is committed to getting and people of the streets in the most effective way possible. They do this by going out to the homeless community and establishing relationships with them. Instead of deciding what the homeless need they ask the homeless what they need.
I believe that, based on what I’ve found, Join is actively pursuing sustainable living for the homeless community.