Edmonton: Green, or greenwashing?

How many people can say that their city puts their normal residential garbage through a giant composting center before going to land fill? I don't know the answer to that, but within Alberta, the answer is almost a million... Which begs the question: How many people actually know what happens to their garbage, aside from it being collected every couple of days?

I am lucky enough to live in a city where recycling is included in my taxes. That means all I have to do is put all paper, plastic, aluminum and other recyclables into a blue bag, and it gets sorted at a recycling center.

Like I alluded to in the first paragraph, Edmonton composts all garbage sent to their facility. They also manage one of the most advanced recycling and electronics recycling facilities in North America. I am happy to live in a community with a progressive stance on sustainable living. Out off all our garbage, only half ends up in the landfill. Last year I wrote a policy proposal to institute the use of biodegradable utensils and take out packaging within the city. This would likely reduce the amount of plastics remaining in the garbage system, reducing the amount of remaining waste to between 25-40%.

That said, problems are present. Currently, the industrial composting system has regular outages, when all garbage is rerouted directly to the landfill facility until the system is running again. This means that for what could be weeks at a time, our supposed amazing facility is down for the count. When the last assessment was done, there was the suggestion for a complete replacement. This was unfortunately not done, and as such the whole waste management process within Edmonton is hit or miss.

That doesn't stop Edmonton from propping themselves up whenever possible, touting their amazing feats of green. We have a parks space which is more than 17 times larger than Central Park in New York. While this is admirable, and I have recently come to realize just how special Edmonton is, Edmonton also has a responsibility as a progressive city to admit the issues which are present, and address how the city will tackle the challenges in the future.

I am excited to see what the ideas are, and how I can help.

My buddy Jodi

So. I am tooting the horn of my excellent education: The Department of Human Ecology finishes ones incredibly well rounded education with a firm dose of reality: a 6 week practicum within a business, government agency, non profit organization related to your chosen field of interest, and uses it to make sure you have something recent and relevant to add to your CV. Not totally necessary for an old cat like myself who has some generic office work already under my belt, but it also gives people a great starting point for a master's thesis... Case and point: Jodi!

Jodi came back from Nepal motivated, happy, experienced, and ready to educate all of us on how every choice we make can help or hinder. Her discussion over a lunch of grilled cheese and fries was much more relaxed than the interview provided in the link, and attentions were split between this experience and her recent decision to marry the love of her life. Her words regarding the poverty which she encountered had an impact which brought me back to my desires to live simply, ethically, and happily.

I know that globalization has brought us all closer, and there is no way to go back to each country producing only for itself, which I don't think ever really happened anyways. But historically speaking, most people were able to trade or bargain and receive something with relative value compared to what they were providing. At this point in history, the glutton in us is not playing fair with people in a "some food is better than no food" situation. I would like to one day own a business, and I want to do so without pulling the wool over the eyes of someone less fortunate than myself. I think of it this way: The only reason I am in my shoes and not making them is a twist of luck. If I keep that in mind, perhaps I will be a business person I respect, and who makes an impact on the way things are done, even if just in my chosen corners of the world.

Jerry McGui.re had an epiphany about becoming the type of agent good athletes deserve. He found a passion for something he was good at, and revelled in that passion, not the money he made. This is what life is all about. This is why people endeavor to DO things.

Please. Think about who you are, who you want to be, who your kids would have been if they were born to someone else across from where you are in the world right now. And begin to do right by these people. By these people, I mean all people. By the people who you live near, who need encouragement to make smart choices. By the people who live far from you, who cut the threads from your jeans before you wear them*. By your family, who deserve a you who makes responsible decisions. Do right by yourself- you deserve to know you make a difference. You deserve clothes made by people who got paid a living wage. Make this world less of a consumer driven machine, and revere it's natural beauty and potential.

Viva Fair Trade!

*See this movie. It is amazing, and makes you realize that things here may be cheap, but people 'pay' for low cost clothing.

Time For Change

Reflection brings personal scrutiny. Scrutiny brings about a personal needs assessment. Personal needs assessment leads to action plan. Action plan leads to acting on plan. Action leads to results.

Wish me luck.

Death in the Time of Cookies, and other comedies.

I went to a movie last night. Me and some fellow students went to a delicious new movie about roller derby. That's right, W.hip It. It was amazing. I am not a lover of girly movies just because they're girly. I like movies that last in my mind. Ones that say something real. This particular movie was a great example of such. There was some feminist rah rah go women message mixed in, but it was done in a very tasteful way. It did not overpower the story, and the story itself was sweet, and not as altruistic and perfect as most other girly movies. It wasn't good because the main character wins everything shes always dreamed of, manages to do it all, have her cake and eat it, get the perfect boy who makes everything work just right. It was actually perfect because many of those things weren't there, and they weren't necessary. And that made it awesome.

In real life, the occurrences which often make us happiest are not often the ones we were planning. They are the anti-obvious, the strangest, most peculiar endings to the story. This is what gives people the motivation to take chances, open up to new ideas, embrace the world outside the safe zone. It's the knowledge that sometimes the rewards are intense, and well worth it. It is a bizarre experience to know that you feel incredibly pulled in a particular direction when it is in exact opposition to your nature. I, for instance, was certain I would never decide to get married, and was not looking for any kind of relationship. Then at 19, I became friends with my husband through school. One day, while discussing my desire to move (to a different city eleven hours away) with another friend, I mentioned that I knew I would always have DH in my life; I expected that most college friends would eventually fall out of touch. When she looked at me strangely, and asked why I thought that he was different, I was at a complete loss for explanation. I wasn't particularly better friends with him than others within our group, and he was seriously dating someone he had met in high school. There was no romantic intention behind my statement, I just knew that he was a friend... forever.

This tendency to jump in with both feet to strange situations does of course also put us at risk for failure, loss, and brutal rebuff. I think the soul is far more fragile than our physical body- the injuries we receive to our heart and mind will never fully heal. The scars we get when we fall down on our knees are far stronger than the scabs which will always be fresh and bruised on our souls. I have realized that over the years I have lost some people who I counted as desperately close friends, and this loss makes me judge myself more than any other criticisms I have received. I never want to experience this loss again, and I am driven to reflect this commitment through my actions with friends I have now. In that way, sometimes the things which cause us the most sorrow are the experiences which make us the best versions of ourselves. These hurts and losses are what make us feel empathy, allow us to make better decisions in the future, and inspire us to move on.

I'm sure it may be noticeable, but I will say it: I have entered a phase of melancholy. This is not a mood I dread, I am able to moor myself to my deepest truest feelings when I am reflective and a little dour. It's not depression, or unhappiness, but a quiet reserved veil where I see things not in the fun, fast, instant gratification way that I usually do. I think this reflection and evaluation may make me more capable as a human ecologist, as I possess the will and desire to do better, to be more, to fully represent my true personal self. This is an inspired and creative time. I think it's kind of what the government tries to make a person feel with their crazy intense 'join the armed forces' commercials, where everyone looks a bit misty eyed and very patriotic, flags waving in the background. Since I have no intention of feeling passionate about fighting fights I may not agree with, for a government that makes a lot of bad choices, I will use this strange, perceptive, quiet time to watch for some mysterious and beautiful opportunities to act upon.

Vancouver, Mommies, and Thanksgiving

Yes. Canadian Thanksgiving, my birthday, my friend R's wedding, my trip to Vancouver all occurred this weekend.

First: My Mother in Law is out of the hospital. The doc's sent her home because they need her to eat, and hospital food is the pits. So now it's her job to eat things, and if her infection flares up again, she may have to go for IV antibiotics by day. Best news ever! Or at least the best we could hope for, at this time! Hip Hip Horray!

Wedding: Funnest ever! Pictures to follow! Drive took forever, so we missed the rehearsal dinner, which was no fun at all.
Birthday: Funnest ever! Drove all day, but then after missing the rehearsal dinner, got to snuggle with husband, sister, and her boyfriend.

Mom #2: Got a text message from a long time friend that she had her baby the day of the wedding, a day after my birthday! was SOOOO excited that everyone is safe and happy!

Thanksgiving: Sis is a celiac vegitarian, so she made us some awesome gluten free yam/squash perogies, a crazy awesome pair of wheat free chocolate cakes (hers was soy based, I am allergic to soy and so mine was made with dairy), and delicious salad.

Mom #3 On the way home, we went through Calgary. My mother was so sick a few weeks ago that she couldn't make the trip up to see my brother and us in Edmonton, and so she has been a little down. She found out that she has gall stones, so she is either going to have surgery or other treatment, but until then she is stuck being quite uncomfortable. So that's mom #2 stuck under the weather. When we showed up at her house, my dad having kept her awake and hour and a half after her normal bedtime, she cried and was all snuggly. She told us about

Mom #4: Cousin who had been told early this year that she would be unable to have a baby. She gave away all collected baby clothes etc. A few months later, at a normal physical, her doctor asked if she could be pregnant. She explained her medical issues, and then her doctor proceeded to do a normal ultrasound for routine check up stuff. And then he, the nurse in the room, and my cousin cried as they celebrated the impossible together.

Now that the wedding and my midterms are over over, I have been going over all the e-mails between my dad's brothers and sisters regarding the future care of my Grandma,
Mom# 5, who is delving further into the labyrinth of dementia caused by Alzheimer's. They are attempting to make a sound reasonable decision of where she should be placed to ensure that everyone is able to visit, and how to prepare to make her quality of life as positive as possible. I am so impressed by how loving they are, how amazing my family is, how they all pull together and try to be unbiased. I was particularly touched by my new aunt, who has only been within our family for 2 years, who has only recently become a Canadian citizen, from Chile. She sent out an impassioned Spanish letter stating that my grandmother would surely be well taken care of by herself in her and my uncles home. The fact that I am the only family member with a reasonable understanding of Spanish made it all the more amazing.

I guess those are the things I am thankful for, the things I love, and the things which make me certain that I want a profession which engages my heart and my brain.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

So Speaking of Communication

Alright. So. Apparently I put my cranky pants on this morning, and stirred up some trouble on my friends blog. Perhaps it was only between me her and the wall, but perhaps I should have kept my thoughts to myself.

I am a fiercely typical indecisive Libra... I tip my brain from one side of the issue to the other, and when I read something which seems to ignore the possible aspects within the story, it usually irks me. I feel like it's not representative.

So when I recently went on my friend Dear Fitz's blog and read her latest entry, her small aside where she calls crazy brain on Jenny McCarthy... made me annoyed.

Sometimes things are better left under the rug. It had nothing to do with the rest of her well written article which I agree with pretty much orgasmically (Yes, Fitz, that was for you, so you can snicker all you like). The scary right wings always find weird ways to make protecting yourself or young women some sort of pulpit to preach ignorance, and a recent death from a reaction to the HPV vaccine sadly bolsters their argument, however crooked. That's bad news bears because all those things that people have been fighting for for years- equality, relevance, choice, safety, kindof get squished in the name of pious righteousness. I just thought that it was fair to ask for representations of why she thinks all vaccine haters are crazy. She responded to my response, and I responded in kind. We may have been heated, but we are very close and I am usually just saying stuff to drive her crazy. I don't think that shows well in blogspeak.

The thing I find interesting is that its the most fun I have had on her blog in a while. It was rich with ISSUE, and debate, and made me want her to write MORE goodies about how the state of the world rags on the common woman. Commenting is what you're supposed to do! I think it generated more comments than usual. So perhaps stirring the pot, on the internet, for funnsies, when all I'm asking for is a fair balanced review of the MANY opinions on the matter, is a good thing... right?

Whatevers. Fitz I love you and you know it. But I don't think I'll hold back on your blog because I think it's good for you.

By the by... my MIL is doing ok, but not awesome. It's all very uncomfortable, but I am staying positive. Thank you for the loving words all.

The Message and the Madness

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
Simple, and not always possible. Great advice for children, until they get old enough to learn that tact isn't lying, it's not covering your true feelings, it's not hiding it all inside. It is finding the most sensitive way to convey a message.
Some people just don't learn that lesson.
For instance:
After a woman has been in the hospital for weeks, and has been in isolation for days, and you as a physician find not MSRA, but an equally icky Staph infection, you review her file and find that she is allergic to all antibiotics. You ensure that you and a colleague agree: that her only courses of action are to die, or take antibiotics which may kill her anyways, and have a minimal chance of recovery.

When delivering this message you:
a) sit at her bedside, and discuss the issue since she is a nurse and is well versed in her medical history and the issues at hand
b) stand 10 feet away in the doorway of her room and say "You can go home and die, or we can try another antibiotic you're allergic to and run a lot of benadryl. You'll probably still die
c) ask the patient if she really is making a good decision even when she agrees to treatment after delivering news via option b).
d) dance a jig and then pee on the floor

If you picked C, congratulations, you're the worst person imaginable, and the evil doctor my MIL faced ALONE, at NIGHT. I find you vile, and I might consider telling the medical board that your complete lack of bedside manner even in the literal sense is so abysmal that you absolutely should not be allowed near conscious patients.
Even the ugly truth can be easier to handle with some sensitivity and understanding.

On the upside, my MIL didn't really think that the "choice" offered was a choice. The drugs leave her doped, and she has some breathing issues and itching, but the antihistamines seem to be keeping things at bay. She is eating and keeping food down. Between a slim chance and no chance, why not gamble, when the payout is LIFE. It is time with her granddaughter (my amazing niece), her husband, and her children. Before this issue, which was meant to be a simple battery change in a pacemaker, she has been through far worse. She has faced cancer three times, and even when things are dire, there is no quit. Perhaps this knowledge- that things have been bad before is what gave her the courage to choose the gamble. I suppose this is what brought the second question from the doctors, who have only seen her be in pain and ravaged this one time. They obviously don't understand the love and tenacity that defines this small beautiful woman that I am happy to call Mom.

Booo Hiss

My mother in law has been in the hospital for a few weeks, following a barrage of complications from surgery. My Husband and I have been visiting her, like the rest of the fam. At this time, a patient she shares a room with has been infected with MSRA staph, which means we can't visit her. This form of staph is resistant to pretty much everything, so it's up to the human body to fight it off, with antibiotics usually assisting the body in fending off other bugs which may be attacking at the same time. As it is, my MIL is only able to use 3 types of antibiotics, as she is allergic to all, but can use these with a benadryl drip at the same time. We basically have to just hope that the infection will remain only with the other patient in the room. My family was in town this weekend to visit, and so DH and I haven't had the chance to see her, and now will not be able to until this all blows over. My school week is basically a gong show, and planning for R's wedding is also taking up time... How does Human Ecology relate to this? I guess it's my holistic approach to life. I am feeling stressed but calm. Take things one at a time, and do what I can. I cant change some of this, but I can change how I accept and perceive all these challenges.

Working with my hands. And the green eyed monster

So it's Fashion Week in Edmonton! Don't be surprised if that shocks and flummoxes you. It's not well known. We're a big city, and we are obsessed with festivals, and fashion is no different. Is ours run by a large marketing conglomerate like all the others? No, ours is run by a local who spends her life planning and executing. The execution of the show is... debatable. But it makes for a good time. Find out more here.It's the most affordable fashion week I know of, it costs very little to show a line, and does provide some legitimate press for the designers. As an former volunteer, and as a girl who attended with some besties last night, there are a few things I have learned

1) I would like to show something at some point but only if
a)my work was clean and finished looking
b)my line represented one theme
c)my clothing was representative of an original viewpoint
d)all my models were wearing tights or shorts if in shorter clothing, so the poor audience doesn't get a full monty every 30 seconds

2) The marketing may not target the younger fashion oriented within Edmonton, and instead seems to be about marketing the show towards developing professionals in the industry. This means everyone within the fashion world in Edmonton has heard of it, and few others.

3) The humbler the designer, often the better the clothes in regard to fit and completion.

4) Sometimes smaller low budget affairs lead to entertaining "The O.ffice"-esque moments, which make the entire evening worthwhile.

5) When distributing prizes, don't tell the "chic new york designer" (read: U of A grad who moved to New York and has made some dresses... but not a tonne of commercial success)to call up "a bunch" of girls when you only have a "few" prizes. Hmmm. Akward.

How does this relate to Human Ecology? Well, program planning, marketing, and fashion are all really important to my personal interest in the field. It's the weekend, I know I'm kinda phoning this one in, but it's only Saturday.

Bad News Bears

Canadians tend to regard themselves, purely anecdotally as peace loving, nature geeks who are more socially accepting and better educated than our Southern kin, the Americans. When actually reviewing my provinces recent news, I find myself sorely lacking in evidence of such. Most of the news which trickles up to Canada is, let us remind ourselves, anecdotal, or the dregs of the media machines which will talk more about the scandal (read: murderous politicians, drunk reality stars, and sexually confused Evangelists) because of ratings and the almighty dollar. Of course we Canadians aren't going to hear about the good, fair normal people within the States, they don't make news. When speaking with and getting to know many Americans or people of other nations, rarely do I think to myself "gee, hey, I'm obviously better educated."

Recently there has been a tonne of bad press within Canadian borders which boils my gravy... (yes, that is a strange analogy, but I used so many in my last post I feel the need to add at least one to this one.) We just yesterday had a well known politico charged with drug possession and drunk driving. Our governments appears to be operating quietly and sneakily, and has changed many things of late which affect people close to my heart. These are not the issue at hand, but I hate to say it- we do just as much stupid stuff as any other place does, and there's far fewer of us to share the blame.

For instance (and down to business...) This summer, my province was responsible for ending the lives of twelve black bears who had begun regularly eating at a town dump site. Read the full article HERE . The gist? Bears find garbage, bears eat garbage. People shoot bears. Instead of
1) installing bear fence
2) assessing danger
3) tranquilizing and relocating bears
(all of these are ways I have heard of dealing with these animals) instead wildlife officers killed them the day of initial assesment. They did not even bother to review the current situation so that it could be prevented in the future.

Why is this of interest to a human ecology textiles student?
Human Ecology approaches problems with a solution/outcome based attitude. When looking at the choices made, or choices which will be made in the future, one should consider possible outcomes. I understand that these bears may have been in a habituated state, but what brought them to this level of dependence in the first place? Oh. People.

Humanity is imposing upon a lot of this world. We are sprawled out, and cover a lot of territory. Our policy for living here should reflect this. The town in question is dependant on many different levels of government to provide for their needs. Although this landfill may be maintained by municipal funds, it is important they also have access to the necessary assistance to keep humanity's "junk" out of the rest of the worlds relatively natural flow.
One note I find particularly troublesome:
"...Fencing the dump wasn't an option either. "Once bears are habituated to a site, they will break down fences," [Sustainable Resources Development spokesman Dave Ealey] said. "We don't put up bear fences. That's something that municipalities can do if they feel it's becoming a problem."

Well. That answers that. I wonder if the big flashing light of irony was going off in his head as those words left his mouth. Killing 12 bears in one day isn't evidence of a problem. That might be silly. This couldn't be the inevitable end to this issue again several months down the road... That's just... Oh, wait. LOGICAL.

Human Ecologists take classes which yes, help them plan events like weddings, quilt shows, or literature conferences. We also study government and programming policy, to foresee and prevent possible issues. Human Ecology also understands the world as a cooperative system. We impact the world just as much as the world impacts us. As such, all policy developed should reflect that, and not just protect people from the world, but also protect the world from the impact of people. This is why we develop sustainable clothing, family programs, risk at youth events, or become employed by municipal collectives which help promote and refine rural development issues and solutions. Policy is important because it will shape our lives now and down the road.

The travesty of this "policy" is that the township is on it's own recognisance. There was no recommendation made to the town, no changes were made to the way things are working, and the policy was to extinguish the "problem" without even studying it. To be honest, bears were just doing what bears do- eating the easiest food they can find. Maybe it's time to review the idea that the problem is.... hum (wait for it...) anity. At the time, the bears had not endangered anyone, no attacks had been reported, they were simply too used to eating the food we left in bear-sized snack containers (read: garbage bags) out in the open for them. This is not policy, it's entrapment.

The news article above references other work sites- temporary living quarters which house many people which use bear proof garbage containers, to prevent just such a problem. This shows that within this company, safety of inhabitants and responsibility to this site within a wild area had been considered before implementation of this temporary site.
Boggling. My guess is that because the people living there would be under the responsibility of the company while housed there, these companies endeavor to make safety the foremost concern because they will be held accountable by unions, families and co-workers if something bad should happen.

I do understand that perhaps these bears could not be saved. I understand that this rural area may be less familiar with bear issues than the mountain municipalities such as Hinton, Jasper and Banff. I understand that when I visit Jasper and I HOPE to see a bear, I want it to be while I'm safe, and I don't want to be lunch. But I do also understand that this issue was not the bears fault, and it makes me shameful to be Albertan at this time, to know that we aren't protecting our natural resources like wildlife better.