Listen to COD English Professor Tom Montgomery-Fate’s essay on the topic.

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=08-P13-00042&segmentID=8

about your relationship to the environment since the fall semester began? This is the week to blog about it! Click “comments” below and tell us!

   The following math/science project was adapted from material found in the book Mathematics for Human Survival by Patricia Clark Kenschaft. Her intent is best expressed by her own words “With luck, the mathematical concepts and exercises in this book will help you better understand the current threats to global sustainability and develop the skills to help you address these threats. Maybe it will help readers reconsider financial and lifestyle choices, as well as public policies. Just possibly this book will play some role in helping humanity survive on this globe.”
   She includes background information about the environmental importance of rainforests and the business reasons that rainforests are being destroyed. In these contexts, she has quantitative information addressing, as examples, effects of jet engines on carbon dioxide levels and rainforests being destroyed to graze beef cattle.
   I (Jim Bradley) adapted these exercises slightly and provided projects within the 3D context to two sections of my Mathematics 1100 – Business Math classes. Over forty-five students participated in the activity. The students were to solve the problems using dimensional analysis and data conversions. The answers to the questions as posed implied:

• The daily departures from O’Hare International Airport effectively cancel the daily oxygen production of a rainforest almost as large as the state of Illinois.
• Producing a quarter pound hamburger can destroy 55 square feet of rainforest

   I asked them to work the problems in groups, individually reflect, and then discuss the results again in the same groups. One of the students who participated was very passionate in opposition to the statistics and positions taken in the book. That student may end up developing a minority report English paper on the subject in her writing class.
   We captured data on how many of the students were either unaware of the issues and/or surprised by the results. Moreover the students were asked to indicate lifestyle choices they may consider changing based on the results. These results are summarized in the comments.

                                                                                    O’Hare     Quarter
                                                                                                     Pounders

Percent previously familiar with issue                                30            19
Percent surprised by the numerical results                        79            81

Sample of Math 1100 Students
Suggestions relative to changes in lifestyle suggested by the analysis

• Fly less
• Use public transportation
• Eat fewer quarter pounders
• Eat less
• Plant a tree
• Plant another tree
• No changes
• No changes because statistics can be manipulated to support theory
• No changes
• Plant more trees
• Alternative transportation
• Recycle
• Be environmentally aware
• Cut down on airplane usage
• Eat vegetarian
• One person can’t do anything
• I never really fly
• I just don’t want to
• We can reduce the amount of meat used every day
• Don’t waste food
• Stop eating quarter pounders
• Does not agree with the current practices of both issues
• Reduce consumption of quarter pounders
• Reduce consumption of beef
• Travel less
• Ride a bike
• Use alternative travel
• Drive less
• Eat less meat

   In summary, the problems proved challenging and relatively interesting for these students. They enjoyed the group-work and discussion as an alternative to the lecture. Moreover, a significant percentage of the students gained an increased awareness of or appreciation for the magnitudes and controversies associated with these issues.

My students get lost in the maze.

Thursday, September 25, the sun shone warm and bright—a beautiful day to wander Morton Arboretum for an hour. Forty of my (Linda Elaine’s) English 1101 students, some for the first time, converged on the Arboretum grounds to complete the first part of an observation and description essay assignment, the double-entry journal. Read their thoughts on what they discovered.

   In her article, “A Home-Grown Solution,” posted below, Mary Swander gives me “food for thought.” I won’t be buying my own pig anytime soon, to live off his meat–there’s no room for him in my townhouse. But I sure can cook enough food for dinner as well as lunch the next day, packed in reusable  containers.
    I’ve stopped drinking out of plastic bottles–I bought http://www.mysigg.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=3 one of these hot and cold, extruded aluminum bottles with a really nice design on it, so now I make tea at home, bring it to work, and refill it when it’s empty. My awareness of what I do to decrease my footprint is growing every day. How about you? In the comments section, pass on to us what you’re doing this week. One person at a time, we can make a big difference. — Linda 

A Home-Grown Solution By Mary Swander  Des Moines Register  July 9, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by the Des Moines Register, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only.]

      I’m driving down Highway 22 from my home in rural Kalona, site of the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi River, toward Riverside, site of the largest casino in the state.

      The storefronts in Riverside, a once-lovely downtown nestled on the banks of the English River, are boarded up with rotting lumber nailed across their once-graceful, red-brick facades. Even the antique store has gone out of business. The most upscale establishment on the block is Murphy’s Bar and Grill. But Murphy’s and most of the other businesses in town are gambling on gambling to make them more prosperous.

      We all need to place our bets.

      We can continue to support casinos, hog-confinement and slaughter houses in the state of Iowa, or we can provide sustainable, family-centered jobs that encourage a healthy environment.

      We can lay our money down on more stinking air, lost farms, and lost fingers, or we can embrace the new agriculture.

      My generation has begun a change. We’ve stopped chasing our losses and have returned to the simple idea of growing, selling, and consuming our own food within our own borders. We’ve led the way with pesticide-, hormone- and drug-free products. But we can’t continue this journey on our own. We need young Iowans to travel with us.

      When the die settles, the promised ice-cream store may open its doors in Riverside and the little old ladies will have their night out slipping their Social Security checks into the jaws of the slot machines. But what about the bigger picture?

      Why does Iowa have more gambling per capita than any other state in the union? And why did casinos, factory farms, and meatpacking plants become Iowa’s idea of “economic development”? How did we get into such desperate straits?

      Once, Iowa had been a prosperous agricultural state made up of a web of small family farms, small towns and medium-sized cities. Then agribusiness, largely supported by the U.S. subsidies, forced out small family farmers who in turn supported the merchants in the small towns.

      Wal-Mart and other box stores put a tighter squeeze on the local hardware, clothing, and grocery stores. Then in the 1980s, high interest rates pitched scores of wobbling small farmers into bankruptcy. A rural suicide prevention hotline was established for the first time.

      Young people who received excellent educations in our school systems took one look at the boarded up storefronts, polluted lakes and streams, and moved away.

      So how are we going to keep those young Iowans down on the farm? we asked ourselves. During the farm crisis, the state started to try to address its dying downtowns and brain drain with craps and caged pigs. Since that time we’ve lacked the imagination to come up with a better plan.

An alternative

      The roulette wheel spins around and around and while it mesmerizes most, others have sought their fortunes away from the cigarette smoke, blaring music and lights.

      In quiet pockets of the state, sustainable agriculture has taken root. Small organic farms, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), the Iowa State University Leopold Center, the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, the Slow Food Movement, the Amish, food co-ops, restaurants, farmers markets and a host of other groups have joined forces to create an alternative economy, one based on the old-fashioned Iowa values of self-reliance, entrepreneurship and wholesome, local food.

      The movement has gained such momentum that even Wal-Mart is trying to cash in on the trend and will soon stock its shelves with “organic” junk food.

Not always expensive

      The choice is yours right now. Take a first step. Buy local, natural or organic food. OK, OK, I hear you protest that healthful food is too expensive.

Here are some tips.

      Eat at home. Or bring a bag lunch. You’ll be amazed how much money you’ll save when you stop slapping it down for those giant-sized hamburgers and soft drinks.

      Join a CSA – that’s a farm that sells shares of their yields. You pay a seasonal fee and, in return, you receive an abundance of fruits and vegetables – often delivered right to your door.

      The produce is fresh, reasonably priced and eliminates the middle person. You can often volunteer at the farm and pick your own.

      Buy local produce at your own farmers market. Make it a social occasion and meet new friends. Hear some live music (many markets feature local talent). Take in the sensations of the colors, shapes, and textures of an array of fruits and vegetables that you’ve never tried.

      Own your own pig. Throw out your ice cream and fill your freezer compartment with meat purchased directly from an individual farmer.

      You’ll be amazed how this transaction will cut costs for you. At the same time, it will support family farmers who create a good life for their livestock.

      Join the movement and cultivate a vegetable plot in your backyard or in a community garden. Tend some chickens. Grow tomatoes in a pot on your balcony. Grow sprouts on your windowsill. Commit yourself to one small bit of rich Iowa soil and rediscover what made this state what it is.

      Get cooking

      All right, so now your head is out of the smoky casino and under a wide-brimmed straw hat. Now you’re wondering where to begin with your grocery bag full of winter onions, asparagus, lettuce and spinach. What do you do with these things?

      Cooking from scratch can be overwhelming for someone who has spent a lifetime heating up processed food in the microwave. Get on your cell phone and call your grandparents. Ask them for a couple of simple recipes. They’ll be thrilled to hear from you and happy to help. Go to the library and spend a half hour paging through cookbooks. Go online and look for fast, easy recipes that can become your standards.

      Save some time

      Ah, but doesn’t this all take time? Yes. But less time than all those trips to the convenience store. Less time than all those trips to the dentist filling your teeth from all those sugar-filled treats. Less time than those all those trips to the doctor treating obesity, diabetes, cancer and a host of diseases linked to poor diet. Insulin shots. Chemo and radiation. Now those things take time.

      Once you join the movement, you’ll also have more food on hand. You’ll reach in the freezer for hamburger or step out in your garden to pick a ripe zucchini. You’ll feel better. Your mind will be more alert. You’ll have a better appreciation for the natural world.

      I’m turning around on Highway 22 and heading back toward Kalona, where the downtown businesses are open, well-kept, and adorned with pots of blooming red geraniums on the sidewalk.

      I’m heading back to Kalona where a local organic dairy, a local produce auction house, and numerous farmers markets are helping to fuel the economy.

      I’m driving past plots overflowing with broccoli, cabbage, bush beans, beets, and carrots, ringed with beautiful red cannas and purple petunias. My stakes are garden posts holding up fences full of scarlet runner beans blossoms, hummingbirds fluttering around the bright red petals.

      I’m heading back to Kalona and picking up hitchhikers. Want a ride?
_______________

Mary Swander is the author of two memoirs, “Desert Pilgrim” and “Out of This World,” and four books of poetry, including “The Girls on the Roof” (2009).   Her poems, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in The Nation, National Gardening Magazine, The New  Republic,  The New  Yorker,  The New York Times Magazine, and Poetry magazine.  She is a Professor of English at Iowa State University where she teaches in the MFA program in Creating Writing and Environment.

Conference: Oct. 14-16, 2008

College of DuPage

425 Fawell Blvd. Glen Ellyn IL

All events are free and open to the public.

TUESDAY, OCT. 14

9:00 a.m.––5:00 p.m.

Environmental Organization Fair, SRC Bldg., Rm. 2800

9:30-11:00: John Price and Joel Greenberg

“Man Killed by Pheasant: Restoring a Kinship with the Land”

John Price is the author of the memoirs Man Killed by Pheasant and Other Kinships and Not Just Any Land: A Personal and Literary Journey into the American Grasslands. His writing has appeared in many journals, magazines, newspapers, and anthologies. He is a Professor of English at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he teaches nonfiction writing.

“Contested Ground: A Natural History of the Chicago Region”

Joel Greenberg is the author of A Natural History of the Chicago Region and Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing. A lawyer and naturalist, he is also the coauthor of A Birder’s Guide to the Chicago Region.

12:30-1:45: Donna Seaman, SRC Bldg., Rm. 2800

“The Nature of Story”

Donna Seaman, a literary critic and editor for Booklist, reviews books for the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Time. She edited In Our Nature: Stories of Wildness, a collection of short stories. Seaman also hosts Open Books, a literary program broadcast in Chicago on WLUW and WBEZ. Her guests have included writers Barry Lopez, Diane Ackerman, Michael Pollan, Terry Tempest Williams, and others.

7:00-8:30: John Price & Joel Greenberg, SRC Bldg., Rm. 2800

Reading and Discussion
Moderator: Donna Seaman

Book sale and signing to follow.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15

12:00-1:30: Suburban Sprawl (Panel) SRC Bldg., Rm. 2800

Lenore Beyer-Clow, Policy Director, Open Lands

Scott Kobol, Ecologist, DuPage County Forest Preserve

Patrick Thrasher, Interpretive specialist, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

2:00-3:30 Open Mike: Environmental Read-in

Sign-up for a 5-minute slot

THURSDAY, OCT. 16

7:00: “Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature” SRC Bldg., Rm. 1450

Douglas Farr, an architect and urban designer, is the author of Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature. He has served as co-chair of the Environmental Task Force of the Congress for the New Urbanism, chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment, and chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development.

Many colleges and universities have joined the trend begun in cities around the nation of reading and discussing a single book that brings a community of readers together around a shared reading experience.

The Nurture / Nature focus of College of DuPage’s 3D initiative offers an excellent opportunity for the college and community at large to identify and select a book whose focus is the nurturing of our natural environments.

What book shall COD choose for its “One Book, One Campus” shared reading experience?

Click on comments and let us know your book suggestions.

In mid-May, I visited the National Geographic Museum to see the exhibit: Trash People. I took this photo. The red figure is completely crushed Coca-Cola cans. Read more about the exhibit.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/museum/exhibitions/trashPeople.html

Here are two thoughts:

1. Students in art courses can try their hand at creating trash art.

2. Everyone can keep a journal of all the trash they throw away. We’d all become more aware of the personal footprint we’re leaving on our planet.

What if students in your English, Political Science, Geography, Philosophy or other courses wrote and submitted essays to the National Peace Essay Contest? Check out the contest rules.

http://www.usip.org/ed/npec/topic.html