Community Voices - Dan Roddy</h1> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Dan Roddy</h1> <p>2016-04-21T17:09:47+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Dan Roddy is the Facilities Operations/Painting and Rental Property Manager at Oberlin College.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe this community and why do you choose these?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Energetic and diverse. The reason I choose energetic is because everyday when I come into the campus area and the community of Oberlin, I feel a sense of energy around me. You get to see things, you get to see people moving and creating. When you come across miles of empty fields and then come to Oberlin, you’re entering an active community with a sense of liveliness to it. Theres a lot of activity, there’s always something going on; thats why I say its energetic. I choose diverse because there is a very diverse melting pot of people and of all different ages; you see it everywhere you go in Oberlin, regardless if you’re in a classroom, office, or building.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How do you think attitudes towards the environment have changed over time in this community? How your own attitudes changed?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I can just give you an example, recycling is one of those things that has come a long way. When I was a teenager the only recycling that was done were newspaper drives. For a long time [newspapers] were the only thing that people saved and recycled. To see how it’s now expanded to all different recyclable materials is really a remarkable thing. What I do a lot with the hardscape in the grounds, is we take recycled brick and use it as a new commodity. To see glass that has been recycled into pavement, to add some texture and some color to it was something that was never done 30 or 40 years ago. I’ve had the opportunity to work some larger events, one of which was a zero waste festival, where absolutely everything that could possibly be done to produce zero waste from this large music event was done. They are becoming more and more the regular routine as opposed to out of the ordinary.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions are you [or your organization/business] engaged in that relate to helping the environment, the local economy or other aspects of people’s well-being?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Starting with the economy, we try to buy local whenever possible. The other thing that we do, in the field of painting and wall coating for example, we are looking at a wall coating that’s more reflective. It costs us more, but in the long run we think it’s going to reduce the need for additional lighting, it will help the wall last longer and it’s an easier thing to maintain. We are always looking for things like that. We also have glass. Do we have glass that is more energy efficient, and does it allow for more natural light? We are always asking ourselves those sorts of questions. We are only beginning to scratch the surface here at Oberlin. The nice thing about being at Oberlin is whenever you bring something like these up, those ideas are welcomed. You have a built in advantage here at Oberlin, there’s a lot of support for environmental changes already and I can point to a lot changes that have already taken place.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are the benefits of taking these actions (for you, your family, your organization, the larger community, and the environment)?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The biggest thing is that it provides a sense of participation. Something as simple as taking your gutter, cutting it off and running a new hose from your gutter can help because you don’t want your basement to flood, but you also don’t want your neighbor’s basement to flood. It’s kind of simplistic. There’s a much larger emphasis on where that water is going to go once it hits our roof; we have the ability to repurpose that water. Is there something we can do with that water besides putting it down a drain? You have to look at the ripple effect, the pebble in the water. Our decisions now are gonna pay off down the road, it makes things better for somebody else who benefits more from a saved utility or resource. In the long run it’s better for everybody and you have to start somewhere.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ann Cooper Albright</h1> <p>2016-03-22T18:37:02+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Ann Cooper Albright started Girls in Motion 12 years ago when she saw a confidence gap growing between middle school boys and girls.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>An Oberlin College Experimental course (Exco) now helps Oberlin College students train other students to be mentors who run the Girls and Boys in Motion program in the middle school. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “So can you briefly describe girls in motion started and the goals and motivations behind it?”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “Alright so when I started girls in motion, 12 years ago, I was a soccer coach for a co-ed team that was in the middle school and I started to see a moment where the girls that were kind of physically fierce and after a year or two ago they started acting goofy and silly and backing away from the ball when it came near them... There was a lot of information and research around what they called the confidence gap. They start out really confident and doing well, and they start to kind of pull back. I wanted to create a program that would focus physically on getting the girls to stay, and not so much even in sports, so at a certain point I noticed that it was about soccer, but then it really wasn't about soccer for me.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was about kind of physical presence in the world and the connection between physical and intellectual presence. They learned how to use their weight to realize their weight, to mobilize their weight, take up space, learn how to support one another, learn how to be involved in something, create movement, perform in public... but all of that would be ways to practice a sense of presence and confidence and physical fierceness that would help combat or intervene in this kind of confidence gap.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “Did you have a vision of a connection between the college dance program and the community?”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “With working in the middle school yeah in the sense that I'm using mentors, but the mentors are all not necessarily from the dance department so the mentors can come from anywhere. I also teach a course called moving into community that is a service based learning course where we kind of theoretically have different projects and learn history but then we also do a project in the community. So I would say it's migrated from the feminist and gender studies into dance. The mentor leader now is not a dance major at all - she's an education major. It's not a super direct dance connection, it's more movement.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “How do you see the connection between the boys and girls that dance and mentors? Are they like very close, do they keep up after the program?”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “I would say there are many mentors who become very committed to the program and continue to do it over 4 years or two years a lot commit or stick with it for a while. Do they see them? You know I would say I think that they continue to see like if they see them the students they recognize them. A lot of mentors that may not have the time to be a mentor this semester will show up to the performance and when they show up to the performance the students come up and are like, ‘Yay, where aren’t you doing it this semester?’, that kind of stuff.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “How do you choose that mentors that work with the kids?”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “There's a program of mentors and mentor leaders and they teach an Exco class so they actually train the mentors through in Exco class. I come into that class and am in contact with the mentors but the training happens student-to-student for the most part.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “Is there something very unique about the Oberlin girls in motion?”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “What makes the Oberlin girls in motion unique is that there's not a prescribed formula. We work with whatever the students from a certain class bring us. I don't have a curriculum, a syllabus, a frame that is the way it is and that's what they implement.</p> <p dir="ltr">What I think makes it useful for the college students who become mentors is that you're working with what happens when something doesn't work out. How do you adapt, how do you adjust, how do you become... like all the skills that are mobile skills as opposed to like this is the way it's supposed to be done because when you're working with the kids and the different the Boys and Girls Club Near Langston and Prospect you never know what you're going to get when you walk in there so you have to be available to shift, I mean they make plans I always make extensive written plans before I teach a class but I'm also really open to the fact that those plans could shift depending on what the class is bringing me.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: “Do you see little ties between the college in the community when you see the kids come up and say oh why aren't you doing the semester do you see some connection…”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “That person to the right [pointing at a picture on the wall of her office] is one of the first girls from the first year of girls in motion and she is a senior now at Oberlin College and I see and, I have hours worth of anecdotes, I could be shopping at Best Buy and the guy behind behind the register says you're from Oberlin and he says my daughter does girls in motion she loves it.</p> <p dir="ltr">I'll have one mentor tell me that one of the students from Langston told her we have this thing called the sun salutations the girls in motion since, and she was angry at her parents or something like that and instead of just screaming and yelling she went up to her room and did the girls in motion sun salutation so like there are lots of stories where we've made a difference.</p> <p>Whether we've made like an actual quantifiable difference in the community, who knows? But it's a program that's lasted and I think that's really important.”</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Maureen Simen</h1> <p>2016-02-22T21:03:16+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Maureen Simen received her BA from Michigan-Flint in English and Social Sciences. She then pursued a Masters in Reading Education from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. She has years of experience in curriculum design and development, as well as educational technology. Currently, Maureen works at the Bonner Center for Service and Learning as the Coordinator for America Reads. Outside of work, she enjoys fixing up her house as well as relaxing and reading the classics. Her love for reading is seen in her job, where she inspires college students involved in the America Reads program to volunteer in many schools around the Oberlin area to promote literacy.</em></p> <p><strong>Q. What is the America Reads program?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. America Reads is a community service work-studies program run out of the Bonners Center for Service and Learning here at Oberlin College. My job as coordinator is to hire, train and place Oberlin College students to be reading tutors in the Oberlin City School District grades pre-K through 8th. We also place tutors at Oberlin Early Childhood center, which is a preschool program, and at the boys and girls club which is an after school program.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. How did you get involved in this project?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. Well, I was looking for a job, and Bo Arbogast, who was the director of the education outreach office here at the Bonners Center for Service and Learning, said that this position was being created. It didn’t exist before as a separate position; it was part of the director’s job. I was a high school English and government teacher for 10 years, and then I was a private tutor in New Jersey for 7 years. I have a masters degree in reading and writing education, I had experience hosting events for children. Part of America Reads, the big thing, is Doctor Seuss Day, and we just added stem night along with other literacy events. So it just felt like a perfect fit for what I’ve done in the past and our situation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. Do you have any stories from the project that you’d like to share?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. I wish tutors were here, they tell the best stories about the kids. The hardest part of my job is that I don’t actually get to work directly with the kids. The tutors are always telling me stories. I really enjoy hearing the stories, how much the tutors are connecting with the kids and how much they’re enjoying working with them. It’s always heartening to hear about tutors who have gone on to teaching programs. Oberlin doesn’t have a teaching program, so you pretty much have to move on to it. I don’t know how pleased Oberlin College would be to hear this, but one of my tutors left Oberlin College to go to another college because she wanted to get a teaching certificate, and that’s a big decision to make.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. Who can get involved and how?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. America Reads is open to Oberlin College students who have work-study and those without. I do place volunteers, primarily in the Langston Middle School. Generally people who apply have worked with children before or have a very positive attitude about reading and want to give back to the community.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. How do you think that America Reads promotes social sustainability or community health?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. The America reads program provides support to the school district and individual teachers. Children are able to receive free one-on-one tutoring that the school district cannot afford, parents cannot afford. We do not tutor outside the school district. We work in conjunction with a classroom teacher or a site supervisor. In addition at our literacy events we give away books, we have crafts, and face painting. We also sustain and hopefully improve college-town relations, as well as providing children the opportunity to have a book that they get to pick out, and they get to keep. We also hope that we sustain the very hard work that teachers do every day to help children learn to read.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. What have you enjoyed about working with Bradley?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. The few chances that I’ve had to observe Bradley in the classroom I’ve been pleased to see the level of engagement that he has with the children. That’s always my top priority with the tutors; are you connecting with the kids even if it’s not one-on-one are you getting into the mix, and I do see him doing that. I’m also appreciative of the fact that he’s open to suggestions and he certainly seems to enjoy being there.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q. How do you think living here has changed your outlook on the environment and what you can do to be a part of the culture that the town has?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. This is something that is not part of my job, but it’s something that I feel very strongly about, and that is the preservation of old homes in this town. Our house was built in 1910 and the first workman who came out immediately said, “Oh, you need to rip out these windows and replace them.” I mean, so they’re going to go in a landfill and they’re going to be replaced by a man-made object, and they’re not going to be right for my house because every window in my house was handcrafted for that space, and I’ve seen when they’ve inserted new windows into old houses and that house begins to shift, those windows stay in the same place, and then all those wonderful gasses that give us energy efficiency leak out and they’re not as good. I know there’s a lot of energy saving projects going on around this town, and I don’t want to step on the toes of the people who are doing very good work here, but that is something that I do talk about with people a little bit; ways that you can maintain the character of your home, but still have energy efficiency and have it be environmentally sound. We don’t need more stuff thrown away. We need to find a way to work with the materials that are there. When people throw out vinyl and aluminum siding on these old homes, like, how many more beige houses do we need in this town? There’s a way that you can preserve wood, it’s not cheap, but why’d you buy an old home? So that is something that I do think about a lot, and I do talk about, and I’m researching and reading about old homes so that I can be informed when I am on my soap box about it.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Carlos Mendez</h1> <p>2015-12-09T14:33:40+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Carlos Mendez is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School this year. A Ninde Scholar himself, this summer he worked for the Aspiring Ninde Summer Scholars program as a Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, he assisted the Summer Instructors and acted as a role model for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars. Carlos is very committed to sustainability and also attended the Foresight Prep at Oberlin summer program in which he and his group members identified impactful solutions for food related challenges.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: What is your name?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Carlos Mendez: Carlos Mendez.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: And what grade are you going to be in?</strong></p> <p>I am a rising senior at the high school.</p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>Oberlin is really unique, so probably “unique” I would say. And everyone is really themselves -- just, I would say, just true -- true to themselves. Everybody expresses who they are. That’s what I like about Oberlin. Everybody’s really open. It’s really diverse, too.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: You moved here from Kansas, right? How did that happen? How did you feel after the move?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well when I moved I didn’t think much of it, because I had moved prior to that like three times. But once I started to settle here in Ohio I started to really like it. I was more open. I started to explore the town, that’s something I wouldn’t do in Kansas, and I just met a whole new range of people with different interests. And that got me into stuff like basketball, it got me curious about environmental science, and business, and I think it’s really an essential part to who I am now. I feel like I would be completely different if I stayed in Kansas. Because every day in Kansas I would just stay inside playing videogames. I would rarely go outside. And now here don’t want to stay inside. I want to go outside and explore.</p> <p><strong>Q: That’s so true because there’s just so much going on.</strong></p> <p>Yeah, so many events in Tappan square -- just lots to do. I kind of like how it’s a small town so you can go everywhere.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: You know a lot about sustainability from all the stuff you’ve been doing, and we’ve talked a lot about it in the Ninde program -- what does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well sustainability does have a lot of definitions, but to me I would say responsible use of our natural resources and conserving the inherent value of our environment.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Very cool. And how does that affect your own life?</strong></p> <p>It’s not a drastic change to my life, but it’s like lots of things I see around town whether it’s trash in the river or lying on the ground or something, or that activity we did during the sustainability topic when we just sat down for fifteen minutes and heard our surroundings. And at first it was nice and peaceful but then I heard construction and the cars going by and it’s kind of disrupting your peace.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah I liked that the sound or sensory walk. There’s something about experiencing Oberlin in a different way than just when you’re walking around. What are you doing that’s really into sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well, first thing is probably the three Rs -- reduce, reuse, recycle. But then also I feel like the important thing is to spend time telling other people what is going on. Because a lot of time people are just unaware of it. Like my mom she used to buy plastic water bottles every week and I was like, “Mom, you don’t really need to do that. You can just get water from the tap or filter or something.” And I finally convinced her. And every time I learn something I tell her, and she tells my sister, and it just spreads. And I feel like that helps a lot because that’s better than just one person helping out. Spreading it and making a lot of people help out. It’s word of mouth.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: That’s one of the cool things about you being in the [Ninde] program, too, because those kids look up to you. How do you feel about being a role model in that way?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It feels really good actually. Because I remember kind of being their age and I thought, “Oh, he’s a senior, he’s really cool.” And that’s how they see me. I just try to represent myself in a nice way, just think about my responses, making sure I have a nice change to them. Because I know going into my freshman year I was naive I didn’t really listen, I didn’t care about a lot of things. I’m just trying to teach them, “Oh, explore things,” and just being responsible, and just be curious.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: That’s really cool. It’s nice that you want to encourage them, not scare them.</strong></p> <p> Yeah.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell other people in Oberlin about caring for the environment?</strong></p> <p>Just whenever you can, whenever you’re in a certain situation and you see there’s trash on the floor just pick it up, or if you’re going somewhere that’s nearby don’t use your car, just ride your bike. Limit your use of plastic, you don’t really need a plastic bag just bring one from your house and reuse that. Just little stuff like that. When you’re done with appliances unplug it because you’re not even home -- a lot of people when they leave they still leave everything connected: lights on, TV on, and you just need to unplug it. Just the little stuff that helps.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: And you’re going to college next year.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I am.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How are you feeling about leaving Oberlin, coming back on vacation, what are those thoughts?</strong></p> <p>It’s really exciting. And in a way it’s really liberating, just kind of being free because right now I am kind of restricted to a lot of things because I have to babysit my two sisters a lot and that kind of restricts what I want to do. But in college I feel like I’ll do whatever leads me to do like explore, meet new people, and just lots of free time -- and also just focusing on my studies.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Leonard Gnizak</h1> <p>2015-11-16T16:46:03+00:00</p> <p><i>Leonard Gnizak is in his 36th</i><i><sup></sup></i><i> year of teaching music. Currently, he is the Director of Bands at Oberlin City Schools, a post he’s held since 2004. Mr. Gnizak has been a community partner to four generations of Music Mentors since the program was started in 2005. He holds a B.A. in Music Education from Cleveland State University, and has studied Clarinet with Ted Johnson of the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1988, he was elected Teacher of the Year by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.</i></p> <p><i></i><strong>Q. How did the Music Mentors project first come to be?</strong></p> <p>A. About ten years ago, a student cellist from Oberlin Conservatory approached me and said she wanted to learn how to teach. She figured if she offered free lessons to music students in the Oberlin public schools, she could learn about the educational side of the music world. She realized she could offer the project as an "ExCo" to other college students, and formed the group that we now know as Music Mentors. Under the second management, the project was stripped of its "ExCo" status. As a result, the number of students involved doubled.</p> <p><strong>Q. Why do you think it's important for college students to be involved with the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p>A. College students earn valuable experience by getting involved with the Oberlin community. The Music Mentors I work with tend to realize they get more out of community-based experience than what they put in. Also, many members of the community don't have the resources college students have, so they can always use their help.</p> <p><strong>Q. What are some notable learning experiences you've had as a result of working with the college students?</strong></p> <p>A. The college students develop rapports with the kids in my schools. The kids feel comfortable enough to discuss issues at home or at school with their mentors. Then the college students tell me about any problems that need to be resolved. Without their music mentors, many conflicts in the kids' lives wouldn't be addressed.</p> <p><strong>Q. What advice can you offer to college students about starting and sustaining community-based projects like Music Mentors?</strong></p> <p>A. The college student needs to have an idea. Offer something to the community, but don't be too pushy. The person who came to me about starting Music Mentors asked, "Do you need help?", and not, "I'm going to teach your students." She didn't come in with a strict agenda; she was clever to let the program come together naturally, through experience and over time. When a college student offers help, it can end up to be a lot of work for the community partner as well, so be considerate of that aspect.</p> <p><strong>Q. How does Music Mentors contribute to a sustainable community between the College and the city of Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A. It's a great model for other sustainable projects. It has continued for four generations just by word of mouth. Nothing about the program is set in stone, and although changes in leadership tend to change the program slightly, it still flourishes throughout those transition periods. Finally, the program is entirely student-driven. It's never needed intervention from college or conservatory faculty. The fact that the program is student-driven is what makes me so proud of it</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Bradley Hamilton</h1> <p>2015-10-28T15:18:28+00:00</p> <p><i>Bradley Hamilton is a junior at Oberlin College and hails from South Carolina. He is majoring in Neuroscience and is on both the track and cross country team. Bradley currently volunteers with the America Reads program and has been involved with college run activities such as STEM night to get Oberlin kids more interested in math and the sciences. He sees community involvement as a very important and rewarding part of his time at Oberlin College and hopes that others are inspired to get involved in any way they can.</i></p> <p><i></i><strong>Q. So Bradley, have you seen any of the environmental digital signs at the library, in the public schools, around town, or in the AJLC?</strong></p> <p>A. Yeah, I actually have a class in the AJLC so I see a lot of environmentally related things. I’ve seen a lot of signs urging me to poop…Today, in my class, there was a big sign on the door that I stopped and read and it says, “WAIT! Have you used the restroom? Because now would be a great time!” And so, yeah, I’ve seen a lot of mostly Living Machine related things.</p> <p><strong>Q. Have you interacted with any of those Environmental Dashboard signs?</strong></p> <p>A. Yeah, I’ve poked around at some, but I don’t think it’s clearly evident that they’re touch screen, actually, so I think […] they could use some “Try me!” buttons, but I have seen them, I’ve looked at them, I’ve definitely noticed them…and…would use them.</p> <p><strong>Q. What words would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A. I think I’d say thoughtful? In that what people ultimately do may not be quite so different as other places, but people tend to actually consider what they’re doing more so than…well, I’m from South Carolina, and people don’t tend to consider their actions as much, and certainly not look back on them as much as it happens in Oberlin.</p> <p><strong>Q. What made you choose Oberlin College?</strong></p> <p>A. I picked Oberlin largely because it was a small college, that’s how I found it, I guess, because I started my search looking for colleges that were under five thousand. And then it ended up – I didn’t even know what a liberal arts college was – but I found out that I wanted to be a more well-rounded student, so, I picked Oberlin because of that. And then, size…and once I found out that they had a Neuroscience department, which isn’t that common – I’m a neuroscience major – so that was a really big draw for me. And also I run athletics here, I’m on the Track and Cross-Country teams, and the coach and teams were really welcoming.</p> <p><strong>Q. Many people would describe sustainability as “actions that enhance or maintain economic, environmental, or social welfare of the Oberlin community”. What does that mean to you within and in your life outside of Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A. Sure. So when I think about sustainability at Oberlin, I can’t help but think of the Green Edge Fund. I know they do a lot of really awesome projects around campus and a big one they did is, in the freak garbage truck fire accident they had recently, they helped incentivize buying new, more efficient trucks. And they helped with putting solar panels on the new dorm, so I know that they’re available if I have any ideas, I can go share that with them and have them potentially fund it, which…they do have funding, they’re really approachable. Outside of my life at Oberlin, I just…I think it’s about being cognizant, like the small things is really what you can do? Like turning off the water and lights and just thinking about things, really.</p> <p><strong>Q. Do you think you live differently outside of Oberlin? In terms of sustainability and how much Oberlin makes that a message?</strong></p> <p>A. I think it’s a very clear message that I’ve picked up on, but I wasn’t that non-sustainable before, I was kind of already pretty into that, which probably a lot of the reason why I work with Oberlin, because I already share a lot of the ideas that they support.</p> <p><strong>Q. Do you think that America Reads contributes to social sustainability in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A. Yeah! Absolutely! I mean, I couldn’t cite the exact name of what this is called, but there’s some promise that says that all students in the American public education system will be able to read by third grade, and even though I’m working with fourth-graders, literacy is such an undeniably gigantic part of life nowadays. And being able to work one on one with kids is…it’s also not strictly reading, I also work with writing and helping them through whatever problems they’re having, if it’s focusing…so I really think that in the end, building strong literacy skills in all senses of the word absolutely makes you more well-read, more up to date on what’s going on, and better prepared, so I think filling the community with better prepared people is certainly contributing to social sustainability.</p> <p><strong>Q. Have there been any times where you’ve seen the effects of Oberlin’s sustainability measures and goals that you’ve worked with? Like, do you ever hear them talking about it, like during Ecolympics?</strong></p> <p>A. Well, I’m involved in a lot of things that are involved with kids on campus, like the Track team and the SAAC, a Student Athlete Advisory Committee; they run something called “Track or Treat” and also there’s tons of things in the…probably the most evident things is in the Science department, where they run STEM night, which is called – I don’t know, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, I guess is what it stands for – and it’s just to encourage or I guess promote the sciences in students who are kind of at risk of not really even graduating high school or going to college. So seeing students leave a meeting, and really care about what went on – I say meeting, it’s more like we do different demonstrations and play fun games that get them interested in things; like I’m a Neuroscience major, so I’ve been involved in going down to the middle schools and just performing…like showing them what a nerve impulse looks like in worms, and like giving them a rope and having us model a neuron, or actually showing them real brains, and we performed evaluations on that to try to quantify if it was actually helping and we saw a marked increase in interest in these things so I really do think that a lot of the community involvement is helping.</p> <p><strong>Q. Do you think that there’s more stuff that people could do on a daily basis that you see people talking about and not go through with?</strong></p> <p>A. Well, I know in the dorms, we tend to be pretty wasteful, like lights are always on, I’ve come into bathrooms and kitchens and things are left on, refrigerator doors are wide open, people never turning off their fans or heaters and those are all things that could easily be fixed. But overall I think probably the one that affects the most people’s lives is just, like, lights! It’s so simple but just so many people don’t turn lights off…and that’s part of the reason why the AJLC is so awesome because it’s so much natural light. Yeah, not that I expect more buildings soon from Oberlin but making it easy to make things sustainable is…people tend to be lazy, but when you can help, it always goes a long way.</p> <p><strong>Q. As far as the tutors go, do you think the kids respond really positively to the tutoring? Or do you think there’s “behind the scenes drama” about who goes to tutoring, etc?</strong></p> <p>A. Yeah, I actually was worried about that because I’d never been a tutor before; I was a counselor and I’d worked with kids before, but tutoring is a little different. For the large part, I’m in the classrooms, so I go around and – see, I come in in the morning, so I need to help things get started, they have some morning work – so I get to meet all of them, I know all of their names, but when it comes down to time they normally separate into little groups anyway and then it switches off often, so I don’t have one student I work with all the time. Maybe when a kid missed or a kid is struggling with something, I can help catch them up – or one particular example, a student was writing and they just kept getting further and further away from the line where you typically start writing, which is just an interesting problem, and working through was something that was just fun and really helpful to do, so I have a lot of different things, I mean, if people really need to read, catch up with the class, I can take turns reading a page with them, they read out to me, I read to them, and then they get to hear what proper speed and inflection sounds like and then they get to practice and they don’t feel so bogged down.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ayana Imann Morrison</h1> <p>2015-10-20T18:20:30+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Ayana Morrison is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School in the fall. This summer she was a Ninde Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, she was a role model for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars during their summer program. She was especially helpful in matters of cooking, visual art, and writing, as these are some of her talents.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Emily Clarke: Okay so can you say your name and something about yourself?</p> <p>My name is Ayana Imann Morrison. I’ll be a senior at Oberlin High School next year. I’m still really not sure at all where my life is going, but honestly who does? I come from a large family, but the majority of us are all over the place, so in total there are eight of us counting my deceased brother, but we’re just all over America. I grew up with my mom; she was a single mother, she wasn’t together with anybody while raising me. My granddad is one of the most important people in my life, and I really don’t know what I’m going to do once I no longer have him. I’m a really big people person; I like meeting new people, I like making new friends. I’ve been told that I have a knack for it. I don’t have a lot of problems making new friends or meeting new people.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> How did you come to live in Oberlin or go to school here?</p> <p>I was simply just born here; I’ve been here my entire life. Living in Oberlin is pretty cool just because I think that it’s a really good place to grow up. Because it helps a lot with identity and figuring out who you are and what you’re going to do and what you’re -- I don’t want to say “destined” for because it seems too great of a word -- but it’s good for that first part of your life where you really don’t understand anything. And I think that it’s really good for that, especially in growing up or being adolescent because it’s such an open-minded place that you’re not really shamed for the things that you enjoy or the things that you love. And that can be really really big as far as identity goes -- how you identify gender-wise; it’s pretty open here about sexuality like in my school, like, we know who is bisexual or gay or pansexual or blah blah blah but no one is really targeted for it. So it creates like a really open place where you can find out who you are. And I’m really glad that I’ve always had that. I will admit that there are times that I really wish that I had not lived and grew up in Oberlin my entire life, like I kind of wish that it was split sometimes where I could have went and gotten to see what somewhere else was like as well, because one of the only negative side effects that I can think of as always being in Oberlin is I view Oberlin as kind of like this nice bubble in the middle of everywhere else, where Oberlin is really open-minded and nice and has progressive thinking, and then you go outside of Oberlin and you don’t have those things. And so just being able to adjust to real life is going to be difficult once leaving Oberlin. But I think it was a great place to grow up and it was definitely somewhere I will always come back to. And I’m really grateful of having been in Oberlin schools because it’s a good school system and it has a nice small amount of people so you can have really good friendships and good relationships between your teachers and principals and that kind of stuff… It’s one of the best parts in that the community is so open and friendly, it’s pretty cool.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Something that struck me when I came here was how big the sky was. Because I was always surrounded by mountains, so it must be a really different feeling to grow up, I think, with open fields and huge sky.</p> <p dir="ltr">One of the best places ever is walking over downtown, one of the rooftops downtown you can go up the stairs and since you’re above the level of almost all the other buildings you just look up and it’s nothing but stars. It’s one of my favorite places and I hang out there a lot with my friends. And it’s always funny because we’re like you know what this is like? It’s exactly like a scene out of a young adult novel. It’s really cool, I like it there a lot.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Yeah, one of those small town [novels]. What is it like growing up where you can see the stars all the time?</p> <p dir="ltr">I would think that that’s what kind of started my introspection, because I’m one of those people where I like to just sit around and just think. It’s just as simple as that. Whether it be about myself, or where I’m going, or bigger questions -- like why are we all here, or what’s the purpose of all of this? Just that idea of just looking up at the sky and seeing nothing but stars in this vast unknown is really something that causes that deep thought because it gives me that feeling of there’s no possible way that we’re the only ones here. There’s so much more out there and I want to figure out why. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Yeah because when you’re looking up at the stars it’s almost as if you don’t have a body; it’s almost like you’re floating. So it does open up to bigger thought.</p> <p>Yeah, and something else I get that vastness from and the unknown is… I have this like imagined space, whenever I get lost in thought I like to imagine just being before this large body of water, and the water is dark so you can’t really see what’s in it, and the stones are all black and the sky is grey and it looks like it was just raining. I don’t know why I think of it but it gives me that sense of I am so small. We are all so small. And that’s not to say that being small doesn’t mean you don’t have an impact. I think it’s quite the opposite: because we are so small it’s all that more important for us to be unified and united. And it gives me that free way into any other types of thinking… That sense of being small and realizing that you are just one person and all of this amazing stuff around you is something that I love to realize… And just growing up in Oberlin where you have that sense of openness, like I can go anywhere from here, is something that really helped along that kind of thinking.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Okay you’ve talked a little bit about drawing on nature as a way of getting in touch with yourself. So thinking about ways to sustain that, yeah I guess that seems like a good transition into what sustainability means. And obviously we’ve talked about a bunch of things sustainability means.</p> <p dir="ltr">When I think of sustainability I think, well one it’s important to explain to people what it is. But two why it really matters and how it does affect all of us. Because a lot of people kind of have an open view where it’s like “Yeah this is a problem, yeah it’s not great, but how is it really affecting me?” And I think that’s a really selfish way to think about it but it’s also not something people do consciously. I think it’s just a kind of mindset that people have when they haven’t gone through hardship or struggle. And so sustainability has to do with the environment, it has to do with the economy but it also has to do a lot with relationships and looking out for each other and not just the planet.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Yeah, I think a lot of people separate each other and the planet, as if that’s something you can do. But like looking out for each other and making sure that you are sustaining your community is definitely...</p> <p>Yeah, and not just sustaining your community for now but sustaining future generations. That’s one of the areas of politics that I get really heated about; that’s one of the reasons why I don’t like this huge diversity gap in our politics and in so many aspects of life is because it’s really hard to know exactly what other people need when you don’t fit into that demographic. Not enough are thinking about what’s going to happen three generations from now. Because they’re so focused on making sure that the people here are okay. And it’s so important to make sure that the people here are okay because they’re the ones living and struggling right now. But you also want to think about what kind of life are you gonna leave behind for your great great grandchildren. What kind of stuff are you experiencing that you love that they’re never gonna have that opportunity because we used up most of the fossil fuel? Or because it’s so bad outside in certain locations that it’s not recommended for people to visit anymore. And so that’s the kind of stuff you have to think about when you’re thinking about sustainability. Not only what’s happening right now or for yourself or for other people, but what’s going to happen down the road.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> So what would sustainable politics look like to you?</p> <p>Well that’s really funny because I think those two words should never go together. Because “sustain” is to keep something the same, or balanced, or working. But politics is something that has to always be changing. Because there’s always going to be different needs and different wants. And so if you’re going to talk about “sustainable politics” -- getting to a point where politics can work efficiently and constantly be changing, but have little changes. I think a large part of the problems with politics is that so many people -- even people who like to say that they’re liberal -- get attached to certain ideas. And so by having a system of politics or a system of government where it’s always changing but it’s doing so in little ways, there’s not going to be as much resistance and it’s not going to take as long to make these changes that are so needed. But I think “sustainable politics” is a funny way of putting it -- I think there’d be a better term. Again I feel very strongly about diversity. I think diversity is one of the key factors in fixing [politics]. Because I think so many people like the government officials make it seem so difficult and I understand that it is very difficult especially in working with so many people. I think it would really help if there were more perspectives and more angles to look at it from than just the older white male. Because like the older white male isn’t going to know exactly what I’m going to need, because I am a younger black female. And so having more diversity in politics would really help. Because then you’ll know exactly what more of POC people need. Because you’re not trying to look at it through a foggy glass and other people’s explanations.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> So what actions are you engaged in in your day-to-day that are related to sustainability? In all of the meanings that you’ve talked about?</p> <p dir="ltr">A lot of people are attacked for being ignorant about a subject and I never think that’s the way to go about it. Whether you’re talking about sustainability or anything when someone doesn’t know about something, your job is not to make them feel horrible about not knowing, your job is to make sure that everybody knows, to make sure that they understand. And so with sustainability, doing my own part for the planet like with recycling, but getting the word out is one of the biggest things I can do for the planet or do for the economy or do for anything else, because that way it’s not just me who is doing all those little things but it’s going to be a community who is doing all those little things. And then sustainability in the other ways I’ve talked about -- I think just personal sustainability, which is just keeping yourself balanced and kind of cool…. Our purpose is to have sustainability, or it is to make sure that other people are okay. The purpose of life is to make sure that life can continue, whatever its greater meaning may be. Think about how you can make other people happy, or about how you can help your community or help your future generations. And in return that’s going to end up helping you. And eventually that kind of stuff is going to build up and you are going to be more grateful, you’re going to be more happy, and so self-sustainability isn’t only about thinking about “me”. It’s about thinking about others and focusing on others and in return it’s going to help you.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Okay, so, what inspires you to take those daily actions that we talked about?</p> <p>What inspires me is thinking about other people. But in particular one of my biggest inspirations is my grandfather, because he’s always just been a good guy. Whether it be like helping the planet, he’s always been very conscious of that. Even when I was really little -- now it’s nice, because it’s required by Oberlin that you have two separate things for recycling and just for regular garbage. But when I was little there wasn’t. Like you could just throw everything in one garbage and it was just taken off to some landfill. But even back then when it wasn’t required and there weren’t even people thinking about it, he was always that stickler for like, “No you’re gonna put the paper in here, the plastic in here, the trash is gonna go in there.” And so from a really young age, at least for the environmental factor, I understood and I got this big concept of what sustainability is and why it’s important. And I feel like that’s one of the reasons why I continue to do those daily actions of recycling or telling other people, “Hey don’t throw that in there when you can recycle it” -- it’s because like that’s something that my granddad would do and that would make him happy and proud. And I think that goes along with my definition of sustainability as well. Because he was always the one who was kind of telling me, “Hey don’t just focus on yourself, there are other people to think about too.” ...Helping other people, thinking about your community, thinking about what you can do to try to help the economy or the environment and all these other social important factors. And so my biggest inspiration would be my grandfather.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> He sounds wonderful.</p> <p>Yeah he’s a great guy.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:</strong> Okay, so any last thoughts? Things you want to share with your community about caring for the environment?</p> <p>Always always focus on the bigger picture. Never get into this mindset that I’ve done my part, or that I’ve done all that I needed to do. Because there’s always so much more to be done… Keeping the mindset of there’s always more I can be doing, I am never done playing my part, is the biggest thing you can be doing for yourself and for everybody else… It’s important to think there’s always more I can be doing.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ashley Hale</h1> <p>2015-09-24T20:22:03+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><em>Ashley Hale is a fourth year, Dual Degree student majoring in Economics and Trumpet Performance. She was born in Oakland, California but is immediately from Seattle, Washington, where she began playing the trumpet in 7th grade. In her time at Oberlin she has been involved in many non-profits in the area by way of the Bonner Scholars Program. She is currently one of the coordinators of Music Mentors, a position she's held since her freshman year, and is a tutor for the Ninde Scholars program as well as at The Backspace - an after school activity center for middle and high school students. She has one more year until she completes her degrees here and is looking forward to seeing what life has to offer after Oberlin.</em></strong></p> <p><strong>Q. Could you start with a description of what you’re doing?</strong></p> <p>Music Mentors is a student-run organization where we take students in the College as well as the Conservatory and we go to Langston Middle School to give private lessons for free. Basically the way it works is – let’s say I’m a music mentor – I go into the middle school, check in at the office – like sign in as a visitor or whatever – and then we go to the band room during their class – so between the hours of 8AM and like 10:30AM – and we take out one student, or you can work with groups if you want a group of students, and you work with them for the whole class period, which is about forty minutes. Usually that assignment of the student is done by the teacher so like: “I have this one student who is having like trouble reading this music or whatever” and you’re like, “Oh yeah, I’ll help them out” so basically, that type of thing. Time commitment is really low; we ask that our tutors go in – our mentors go in – once a week for one class period a week, so it’s literally like a forty minute a week time commitment. It’s pretty early in the morning; now we actually have some offerings for after school and at the high school which are a little bit different times and we’re still kinda working that out. I don’t actually think anyone is utilizing that so far, but it’s been offered this semester. We also try and have meetings at least once a month – kind of – for them, just so we can see each other and see who’s actually doing the program and bounce ideas off of each other because we are like new teachers: we don’t necessarily have it all figured out. So we try and bounce ideas off of each other.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Q. In what ways has this work with the community affected your college experience?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think it’s definitely shown me…or made Oberlin less of a bubble for me. So working within the community is like ‘Oh it’s a real place, this is a real thing, it’s real life right here’ as opposed to ‘I’m just here to go to school’. I know so many other kids – I’m also a Bonner Scholar, so I do a bunch of community service work – I also work at the Bridge program, the BackSpace, which is another thing. It’s kind of like an afterschool program, and I’m there as a tutor, so I’m supposed to be helping kids with their homework and stuff, but we don’t enforce that – so I can’t force them to do their homework – so really what I’m there to do is be there if they need some help, but I’m also there to play games. I know all the kids around here and I go to Cat concerts and I’m like, “Hey!” when I see the kids, you know, and a lot of those kids I actually knew before I started working at the Bridge – which was this year actually –due to Music Mentors, and I’ve seen them kind of grow up through the whole middle school process and stuff.<br><br></p> <p><strong>Q. What are some notable learning experiences you’ve had as a result of this work? Specifically with the Music Mentors.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. Specifically with the Music Mentors, just the fact that I’m getting teaching experience is a big thing, which I think I’ll be doing in the future in some way or another, if not professor-wise, just in my regular everyday life. I think I’ll be doing some teaching. I think this is cool, kind of a way to throw myself into those situations and see how I handle it. I’ve worked with a million different types of students, with a million different attitudes, and I think that’ll definitely prepare me for the future.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Q. Why do you think it’s important for College and Conservatory students to be involved with the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think it’s important just because we ARE in the community. Literally, you know? We’re in the community of Oberlin, not just going to Oberlin College and Conservatory. I think there’s definitely that disconnect between the students and the people that actually live here for life. And I think it doesn’t really need to be like that, you know? It’s also just these cool opportunities for us, you know, and on both sides, this sort of symbiotic relationship here between the Conservatory, College and just the regular people that live here. So I think it could be beneficial for everybody if we all collaborate and do certain things.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Q. Did you find it difficult to get involved with the community? What advice can you offer to students who want to get involved?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">No. I think there’s a lot of resources in terms of where to start. One of the biggest ones is the Bonner Center that has just a million and one resources, whether it’s the Bonner Wiki, which has a whole bunch of different sites available that you can work with, or just walking into the office and going, “Hey, I’m interested in this.” And they’ll be like, “Hey we can hook you up with this person or this person”. They have a lot of contacts…everything is with the Bonner Center. And also I think there’s a lot of things with kids, so if you don’t like kids that’s a thing…But in general, I would start at the Bonner Center and also probably Career Services? They probably have some connections with outside of Oberlin, if you’re trying to do that type of thing.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Q. What motivates you to pursue and continue your volunteer work?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well, one is I’m a Bonner, so I HAVE to do it, but then aside from that, I think the experience is, particularly with working at the BackSpace, which is also the Bridge, which is why I keep interchanging them – the kids are there, and they don’t HAVE to do anything, so it totally changes their attitude about life. I’ve worked as a tutor before in the schools and they don’t want to be there, they don’t look forward to that, so the image is so different, but at the BackSpace it’s like, “Oh yeah, I’m here to play games!” and all that stuff, so I think it’s the attitudes of the students that definitely motivate me to go back. They’re crazy and they’re funny and all of that, so I think I have a good time. Then in terms of – so in that way it’s kind of them, you know? But then in terms of looking at myself, I think I’m benefitting from this too. I think I’m getting personal skills like mediating conflicts and things like that, that I think are just good skills to have, not necessarily for a job but just for life in general.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Q. Do you have any additional notable responses from the community partners that you work with that you can remember? Like whether they vocally responded to the support you’re offering or anything like that?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A. Well, Mr. Gnizak is the band director at Langston. He always tells us, me and the mentors: “Oh, we just love that you’re coming in, we really appreciate everything you’re doing,” and if you show up late, like if you say “Sorry I’m late,” he’ll be like “What are you talking about, you’re early, the fact that you’re even here…” So we get that. Also students sometimes say it, but not really. We hear reports from Mr. Gnizak, like “Oh, when you didn’t come yesterday they were all asking about you, like ‘Ashley was supposed to be here three minutes ago, where is she?’” So it shows interest but, you know, that typical middle school kid isn’t going to be like, “I love when you come in here on Wednesdays!” So I don’t think I’ve received anything like that, as opposed to the one time I was like, “They don’t seem very enthusiastic.” I told Mr. Gnizak that, and then he told them that and made a big deal about it and then the next week when I came in, they were all running like, “I wanna go!” And I was like, “I don’t know if this is genuine.” But that was the first time I had ever had any real enthusiasm. But I think maybe they appreciate it. I guess we’ll never know.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p><strong>Q. Is there anything else you want to say about your work, any message for people who want to get involved?</strong></p> <p>I think it’s very easy to be involved and even if people are the slightest bit interested, I think they should at least try it. The worst that could happen is, “Oh no, I don’t like kids,” – that’s fine, at least now you know! You go through life like, “Okay, I think I would be cool at that” and then you get there and then you fall flat on your face and in a real world situation, it actually matters, whereas here, you have multiple years here, you can test out different things cause there’s a million different things to do, and just get involved. I think it’s really beneficial for everybody.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Tyler Gogolek</h1> <p>2015-09-10T15:29:08+00:00</p> <p><strong><em></em></strong><em>Tyler Gogolek is a hydroponic farmer who lives and works with his family in Oberlin, OH. He has over twenty years of growing experience with garden mums and produce and is committed to sustainable farming practices. In January of 2014, Tyler attended a hydroponic grower training where he learned the systems of hydroponic crop growing and produced his first crop in February of 2015. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water without soil. This method of farming offers sustainability through water conservation because the water is constantly recirculating and uses 70-80 percent less water than traditional soil farming methods. Tyler's Farm's mums and produce are available at farmer's markets in Northern Ohio as well as local restaurants and retail locations.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: How is it you came to live and work in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Very simple. I was looking for a piece of land. I saw this property with the tree lines and fell in love and bought it. I had no ideas that I'd ever be married or have kids or anything, and all that just fell in place afterward.</p> <p><strong>Q: How did you decide to create your hydroponic garden?</strong></p> <p>A: Well I've been growing for twenty-plus years. The flower industry took a big hit at the advent of 911. After that, the farm market and the pop-up tent farm market started making an appearance. And that transitioned my flower sales from wholesale to retail, which helped out a lot. But then, we also started recently noticing a decline in flower sales. It has become more of an impulse buy, rather than a necessity. Because I can grow pretty well, my wife and I decided to take the food route and put this endeavor together. We finished in December of 2014 and our first crop was this year, in February 2015. It's been a lot of learning curves since. Everybody needs food and we are doing our part in providing healthy choices for the food that you buy.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word "sustainability" to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. The Climate Action Plan defines it as "policies, decisions, and actions that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (7). What does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability-- a lot of people use as a marketing tool. We actually practice it. So we're conserving water with hydroponic farming where we use 1/10th of the water of a conventional crop. We use 1/3 the conventional fertilizers. We understand that it takes generations to make changes, but we are doing our part right now to at least reduce. The water system is closed so there's no runoff, so we're reusing it constantly until we decide to replenish it. It is a slow process, but we are always open to new ideas. We would love to incorporate a wind-turbine. I don't think solar panels would be the key, but I think wind-turbine would aid with some electricity down the road. There are many possibilities to sustainability and we're open to every avenue that we approach.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you [your business or organization] engaged in that relate to sustainability? (i.e. water conservation, electric conservation, local spending, education, services, and/or products as an example.)</strong></p> <p>A: I think water conservation is one of the biggest things right now. Let's not waste what we have and find ways to utilize it in the best way. And that's what hydroponic does.</p> <p><strong>Q: Why do you think these actions are important?</strong></p> <p>A: They are important because being just off of Lake Erie with all that fresh water, you take for granted what other peoples don't have. And you look at places like California--they had water, but they won't reuse it. There's a problem there. I don't see a problem with reusing water and filtrating it properly and such. They're quickly realizing that their ways have to change or they are not going to make it. And then places like Arizona, they rely on things like canals to bring the water in. And there, they have peak and nonpeak hours of which you can use water. We take access to fresh water for granted over here on the East Coast, but in places that really need it, I think the awareness needs to be heightened for us, as well. Just because we have it, don't flaunt it.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living and respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: Just care. You can't stop litterbugs, but if we all bend over to pick up a piece of trash here and there to throw it out, that would help. Reduce, don't waste. Be more conscious of what you are doing. I'm not saying make drastic changes, but be aware. Have an awareness. We need this environment to be around for a while.</p> <p><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Vibrant and growing.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there a reason you chose those words?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, I say that because come fall every year we have a new batch of college students with brand new ideas and hopes and desires for their lives. So I think that adds to the mix. By the time they are seniors though, they have a grasp of what they really want, which sort of keeps things in check. But I honestly think that Oberlin is vibrant and growing because of all of the ideas that come out of the college and the community.</p> <p><strong>Q. Are there other people in the community that you think we should interview about their commitment to sustainability or sustainable actions in their life?</strong></p> <p>A: We have lived here for some years now, but we have never really been involved like we are right now. I am a new venture and am just starting to learn everyone, but I would say The Oberlin Project has been very helpful to us and introduced us to many new people and businesses. The Oberlin Project is the ones that I would recommend right off the bat.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Joy Harrison</h1> <p>2015-08-25T19:26:47+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Joy Harrison has been a Prospect Elementary teacher for three years. She lives in Oberlin, and feels that it is a place where real change can happen--that if you can make something work in Oberlin, you can make it work somewhere else.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How long have you been working at Prospect?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">This is my third year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Do you live in Oberlin? If so how long?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Yes, I live in Oberlin, and have for three years.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What brought you to Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">My husband, my husband’s work.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>When you think of Oberlin do you think of it as a sustainable place?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think that it is a community that appreciates sustainability and honors sustainability. Discusses sustainability. Has organizations that are working towards sustainability. So I think sustainability is actively a part of the community conversation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Do you think there is more to be done?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well there’s always more to be done. There’s always more. But there is a lot. There’s the solar panels. There’s the food movement; local foods. So there’s a lot going on here. There’s Ecolympics, which is happening now. There’s the dashboard happening year round.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Do you think the dashboard plays an important role in prospect?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think it will. I think it’s like you plant a seed, you water it and it grows. And so I think students are used to having the dashboard here. They are starting to see it as a part of the school. So they are starting to check in with it. Especially with Ecolympics. Ecolympics does a lot for bringing attention to the dashboard. The kids are always curious, so they’re checking to see where Prospect is in relation to the other schools and how much we’re saving.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How do they check the dashboard? Are there monitors in places throughout the school?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Yeah, we have monitors in the downstairs hallway. When people walk by they always look and comment how we are doing during Ecolympics.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What do you think of when you think of sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think, can something go on for generations. Are our circles feeding back into each other in a way that it can last? Or is it a one-way ticket? Energy is going in and getting absorbed and there’s a finite amount of it. So I think of sustainability like an ecosystem. But I don’t think it just applies to the environment. Is your job sustainable? Does the community have sustainable practices? Is development sustainable. It crosses all the boundaries.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What do you think it is that Prospect does with the students to get them to think about the sustainability, and the environment in general?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">As an IB school, one of our units of inquiry, one of our transdisciplinary themes is sharing the planet, and the key to all of the units across grade levels that have to do with sharing the planet is sustainability. And then there are other transdisciplinary themes that lend themselves to sustainability, like how we organize ourselves and other themes. And then of course Creative Change came through and they helped us. A lot of the lessons they have developed through The Creative Change organization fit nicely into planners at different grade levels. We use them for our ecosystems unit and sharing the planet. And that’s complimentary with the dashboard because you can look at the dashboard and check in on energy use, and look at energy use or water use and in discussions of sustainability that matters.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What do you think Oberlin or the school, or both could do to improve either the way they teach sustainability, or just in general how can we become more sustainable and environmentally friendly?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It has so many different answers depending on how you angle it. I think one thing that is going to help us become more sustainable is for our curriculum and our standards to settle by the state levels, so we actually know what our learning targets will be. And inside that, that’s when we can start incorporating all these different threads that run through sustainability. We can start talking more about using the dashboard as a tool, and using Creative Change as a tool. But the college has been great about students from the environmental studies department coming over and doing projects. We have that garden outside, and Shane, who I think has now moved on. But we’ve had different members of the college come. Young members come and help us in different ways.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What do you do regarding sustainability outside of school?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I like that we have the bike path running through, and now that the summer is here I would like to ride more, and take my daughter around. The farmers market is wonderful apart of the community once everything starts warming up. We’re all coming out of our winter cocoon.</p> <p dir="ltr">One thing that I love about Oberlin is that feels like a microcosm of the macrocosm. There’s a lot of diversity here, yet it’s very small. There’s economic diversity, cultural diversity, and yet it’s so small. It feels like a place where a lot of experiments could happen. There’s something hopeful about that. That if you could make something work in Oberlin, it’s something you could export elsewhere.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Is there anything else you would like to add?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It’s a wonderful community. It has problems like every community does. But the problems feel solvable because of the scale. I love the school system here, and I love the International baccalaureate. I think it’s perfect when you talk about sustainability, it’s a perfect fit, because IB is an international thinking structure, so if you want to make the world work, it has to be sustainable.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Aliya Rednour</h1> <p>2015-08-17T13:37:58+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Aliya is going to be a senior at Oberlin High School this fall. This summer she worked for the Aspiring Ninde Scholars Summer Program as a Summer Fellow. As a Fellow, Aliya acted as a role model for the younger Ninde Scholars in facilitating discussion and keeping a positive attitude. After high school, Aliya is considering going to school for nursing.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: So if you want to just introduce yourself, say anything that feels relevant.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Okay, I’m Aliya, I’m 18 and I’ll be a senior at Oberlin High School this fall.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Awesome, okay so two questions first, how long have you been in Oberlin or what’s your relationship with living here and going to school here?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’ve lived in Oberlin since 3rd grade, I moved from Fairview Park and I’ve been here even since and I just last November moved to Elyria, but I still attend Oberlin and I like it. I like Oberlin so I didn’t want to trade schools, transfer.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What do you like about Oberlin’s schools?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The diversity and the relationships and it’s like we’re a whole and nobody’s separated from one another or felt differently or treated differently so its really nice. We all come together and always have each other’s backs, when we go on field trips and stuff, so its cool its like a big family. There’s so much culture and stuff behind it and history.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah, it seems like a town that’s small enough to really sustain that group sense of history and culture.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah there’s a lot to get involved in like how they do Juneteenth and the sidewalk chalk day and that’s just fun and its free and everybody can come.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah, community gatherings.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: And there’s a lot of work like artwork</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah, did you do chalk walk?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: No I didn’t. I’m not really good at it, but I guess you don’t really have to be good at it to go and have fun, but I didn’t go, but I always see it when I walk downtown and it’s cool.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah, I was so sad it rained so soon after.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah, it always seems to do that.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: I know, that’s Ohio for you. Okay, so when you think of Oberlin is there a word or image that’s come to mind just like free association</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: What comes to mind is that picture of the earth and there’s a bunch of different kids holding hands around it. That’s what comes to my mind when I think of Oberlin. Its really weird because I, before I moved here, I never heard of Oberlin and now that I’m here it’s just like I wish I would have been here from like newborn and grew up, but I kind of did grow up from third grade up and I really like it so when I think of Oberlin its that picture. I never think bad things it’s always positive words and vibes when I think of Oberlin and when I’m here, I feel accepted here. I didn’t have that so much in Fairview so it was a new change. I don’t like change, but I’m glad that we moved because it was a good change, it was a good feeling here.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Yeah, I like that picture as a description. So we’ve been talking a little bit about sustainability and all the things that can mean. What is the definition that feels most true to you? What does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: To me, it’s taking care, coming as one or being that one voice that makes a change and recycling and really thinking about the environment that we live in and the world we live in and how one voice can make that change. If just one person steps us, even if they’re standing alone, it can help make a change. So I think sustainability is just making sure you’re healthy, the world around you is healthy, the environment and recycling – just being aware of all the things that we do because it is going to affect us and we want a good environment around us.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: So keeping that mutuality in mind like being sustained by that and giving back. So, what actions are you engaged in day to day that you see as being related to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Turning off the TV before I go to sleep instead of leaving it on or during the daytime not turning on lights because there’s the natural sunlight. Making sure that we are recycling, we just started that in my house and so now if I open the trashcan and there’s a milk jug in there I’ll take it out and put it in the recycling bin and I’m just more aware of how much we use like TV and everything else and how we could cut down on that and when it’s nice outside instead of watching TV just going outside and enjoying it. Picking up trash that’s in the yard or something, just trying to keep things green around us so its like taking care of not just my yard area, but at school and stuff when you see something on the ground pick it up and throw it in the trash and just clean that part because one person can make that change.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: And I feel like that is also looking out for your community because if you don’t pick it up it either stays there or someone else has to.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah and then it’s another of that role model. If someone else sees you doing it, ‘hey they’re doing something good,’ and then they’ll follow and usually you’ll have a good outlook.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: So maybe sustainability is like something you’re always doing with other people around, it’s always affected by and affecting other people.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: And I feel like Oberlin does a good job of embracing that and to just be aware of everything, I feel like Oberlin does a good job of that. Because I used to not be aware of it, but the more it was brought up and the Dashboard and all that it made me more like ‘Oh, maybe this is an issue, maybe we can do something.’ Now that’s it brought to my attention I notice it more.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Just being aware of where things come from and where they go.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah and just like when we were talking about the corn, I never knew that. I always looked at some ingredients, like ‘Oh, corn’s in this’, but I didn’t realize that it’s in everything so its almost like creepy that it’s in everything, but that made me more aware. And, I knew we treated animals bad, but I didn’t know how bad they were treated and how they are fed corn instead of grass and stuff so I’m more aware of that now and I wasn’t before. A lot of new things that I am aware of now.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is that part of what inspires you to make those daily changes?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah, because I’m like ‘aw, the animals’ and I feel bad because that’s like some feeding us the same thing, like taking away something we enjoy and giving us something that is not good for us. Treating people how you want to be treated.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Are there places in Oberlin that feel restoring that feel like they give you the energy to do those things.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: This building [the AJLC] and I noticed it more today when we were in our groups and we were talking about the living machine and it just made me want to do more because they are trying and they have this building here and they have this system already going here and we could just add to it and help make it better. All of the gardens that they have, when I think of it now, like that garden that they have right outside, and then I think of Jones farm and at school when we’re in the kitchen cooking for nutrition she makes a compost pile that she takes home to her garden. It makes me think we should start doing compost and all that instead of just throwing it away. We should just start using it more because I notice at home when we are cutting up stuff, we just usually throw out the leftover vegetables instead of going to put it in the garden or even bringing it to somebody who uses them. We could that more, it makes me want to do more.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: I think definitely part of that is knowing what’s going on around you not just in an environment sense, but also like a neighbor sense. Thinking about other people and who needs what and who can use what.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: You never know how important it is until it’s brought to your attention and you see the change that you can make by just doing it and being involved. I never knew how important it was, I knew it was important, but not to what extent it was important. Being here and learning about it just helps me learn more so I like it and I’m glad that we are all engaged in it. I know that some of the kids had their heads down, but I was like ‘it’s going to get fun, this is a cool thing to learn about.’ Because its not everyday where we just can take a break and learn about sustainability and stuff.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: I like it because it’s a way of talking about sustainability while talking about being present and looking both behind and forward. What would you like to share with the community about caring for the environment or about being in nature or anything like that? Is there something you want to share?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Definitely getting more kids involved and I think it could be more beneficial if it was little kids and older kids working together instead of just ‘hey high schoolers here’s community service you can do.’ Why don’t we get all the kids involved from each school?</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: At every age, yeah.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: So that’s what I would offer, because most of the time here you have high schoolers who need to do some type of community service and I think we should have younger kids involved and be those leaders in helping them and showing them so that when we leave they already have experience with it. Big kids helping little kids make Oberlin and the world run better. Then you have a bonding experience so you really don’t think of it as community service after doing it.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: It’s just being with your community.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah, and coming together to help out.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: I think service is also kind of a weird word for that.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: And it makes people sigh. People usually think of it as a negative instead of a positive until they get there and they are doing it. Most of the time when I think of community service I think of it like the court assigned this person to do community service. Then I don’t want to do that if people are going to ask why are you doing community service? I think the name should be changed itself.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What would you change it to?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Something along the lines of a helping day in Oberlin or something that makes it more motivational instead of community service. I think the name should just be changed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Language has a huge effect on how we think of things definitely.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: It does.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ralph Potts</h1> <p>2015-08-04T17:37:14+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Ralph Potts is the General Manager of the Cable Co-op and has been a member of the Oberlin Community for nearly three decades. His business has provided an alternative to large corporations for the community's cable and internets needs for over 28 years. He also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Oberlin Business Partnership.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>C</strong><strong>ould you tell me a little bit about the Cable Co-op?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The Cable Co-op is a 501c12 public utility, non-profit. Every nickel of revenue goes to operating the system: in paying the daily bills, programmer fees, electricity, just the everyday operating expenses, and anything left over gets put back in the system to upgrade or provide additional services.</p> <p><strong>How did you get started?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well, it’s a long story. We’ve been in operation for 28 years. There was a group of citizens about thirty years ago that wanted to build a cable TV system here, there was none here at the time, in 1986, but they didn’t want a Time Warner or a Comcast or a large organization, they wanted local control. So, they formed this group to look at that possibility, and it’s not unusual since the community already had a city-owned power system, so its very similar to that type of operation, the only difference is we’re not a department of the city. We’re run very similar to a rural electric co-op: we have a board of directors that are elected, they are members of the Cable Co-op, they subscribe to our services. They set policy, and I do the operation. We have approximately 52 miles of plant throughout town. We serve approximately 3,000 homes in the city of Oberlin, and about 60% of the surrounding New Russia Township area. And we service a little over 2,200 subscribers — either through cable or data services.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>In what ways do you think your work with the Cable Co-op relates to the concept of sustainability?</strong></p> <p>Our existence is a[n] example of sustainability, because we’re small, because we started out from nothing. There were those that didn’t expect us to last more than 5 years, but just the perseverance of the staff and the board, we were determined to make it work. It was tough at first, it really is, especially when you’re building from nothing. The first few years were difficult, and I had a lot of sleepless nights. But with the help of the board and different people around town, they assisted us, and we made it work. Just our existence — because we’re only one of a few left that have not been bought up by the bigger operators, that’s just our sustainability. That’s what Oberlin’s all about. Our contribution to Oberlin’s sustainability is just what we’ve been doing and what we plan on doing. The changes in technology and the services were going to be providing here soon will be a draw for new businesses to come in and generate some jobs, and keep Oberlin’s future a little bit brighter than someone who’s not doing it, or a larger company that’s doing it with noting but profit in mind.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What comes to mind when you think about the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The community itself — like I said I’ve been here 28 years. I like the people, I like the people I work with, I like the people that I work for. And the people that I work for are the people that walk in that door everyday, or call on the phone. Those are the people that I work for. I’m not working for corporate America. I believe in who we are and what we are and what we’ve been able to accomplish over the years, and have high expectations for our not too distant future. I wont be around here forever, but when I do leave here, I want to be proud of what I’ve done, and what the people that I’ve worked with have done. So when I turn the keys over to someone new, I want to be able to hand them the keys with no regrets. I want to be able to do that with pride, and I think I’ll be able to do that. This community is very very goodhearted, and I want to be included in that group.</p> <p dir="ltr">We laugh here everyday, we have a good time. Being small, when those people come through our door, they’re not just an account number, they’re not just a customer. We know them by their first name, 9 out of 10, because they’ve been customers for a long time. And it happens all the time too. That person will come in the door and they’ll want to talk to me personally because they’re having some financial issues and they can’t pay their bill on time, and we work with people.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Jim and Anne Helm</h1> <p>2015-07-16T17:49:34+00:00</p> <p><em>Jim Helm is a Professor Emeritus of Classics at Oberlin College, and an active member of the Kendal at Oberlin community. Jim is chair of the Wood-shop Committee, and currently the Vice-President of the Kendal at Oberlin Residents Association.</em></p> <p><em>Anne Helm is trained and certified as a Master Gardener in the state of Ohio. Anne volunteers at places such as Oberlin Community Services, and has volunteered in the past with teenage parents and their children at Wilkes Villa, a low-income housing development in Elyria. In addition, she maintains 3 of her own gardens and 6 communal gardens around Kendal at Oberlin.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: How would you describe the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p>Jim Helm (JH): Diversity and history, and I think environmentalism in recent years has played a pretty important role, and Oberlin is progressive in all of these issues, and the whole question of recognizing alternative sexualities is also in there somewhere.</p> <p>Anne Helm (AH): The kind of rural small town and yet diversity of Oberlin, and the basic values that are common to many people in Oberlin, including that green piece. But "Learning and Labor," and "think one person can change the world."</p> <p><strong>Q: We at the Oberlin Project describe "sustainability" as actions that promote economic, social and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p>AH: To me I guess it's that we leave the earth with as many resources here as when we arrived, but I don't think we're doing it.</p> <p>JH: One of the things my father used to say, back way before the environmental movement, was: you ought to leave a place cleaner than when you found it, and I think that can be generalized to other aspects of the environment — things should be better when you came.</p> <p><strong>Q: Could you talk a little bit about what you are involved in, in terms of sustainability? In particular, would you be willing to talk about the project you are involved in with Habitat for Humanity?</strong></p> <p>JH: Well. One day I was in the neighborhood of our facilities offices, and they had a dumpster out there, and there was a kitchen cabinet in it. Well, that attracted my attention, and I went and examined it; it looked like it was perfectly good. So I hauled it out and took it —</p> <p>AH: Dumpster diver!</p> <p>JH: ....someplace where I could store it for the time being, and then I asked, I said, "what's going on here?" and they said, "Well, you know, we're renovating the original cottages, we're expanding them, we're updating them, and as part of that we're taking out the old kitchen cabinets and we're saving them, but we've run out of storage space so we don't know what to do with them." I said, "I know what to do with them." So, I asked if it would be possible for me to arrange for the Habitat [for Humanity] ReStore to pick them up. I don't know if you know about the ReStore, but they've started this store in Lorain where they sell used construction material sand household goods, and when they receive donations, they use them in Habitat construction if they can, otherwise it goes to the store and they sell it, and the profits from that help support the Habitat program. So I called up and I asked whether they'd be interested, and they said "sure," so I got a group together in the wood-shop and I said, "let's see if we can take stuff out of the cottages that are not gonna be reused and get them to Habitat." So we organized a number of work sessions. The heavy stuff the facilities department here took care of so they for the most part took out the cabinets, and we took out electrical outlets and faceplates and air conditioning vents and shelving and anything that was screwed down that we could take out, and all of that was being replaced.</p> <p>So the upshot of it is, since October of 2013 when I started, we have sent 20 truckloads of materials up to the ReStore, the last one was this Tuesday, and I was just curious as to what that was worth. So I went to the store one day and started jotting down the prices that they were asking for what they were selling, and I put that into a spreadsheet and started multiplying the values times the number of items that we sent, and it now totaled about $26,000. And that's just the used value, which is about a third or a fourth of what it would cost if you bought new, but some of the materials are just in good condition — they're not new — but even the stuff that's not new is in good condition.</p> <p>Usually they send a truck with two guys down and I've gotten to know the guys and we work together pretty well. So that project keeps stuff out of the dump, it repurposes it, it makes things available to people at low cost, it provides a job for the guys that pick it up, it provides a job for the people that sell it, it provides income for habitat, so all of those I think are positive results of what started off as a simple project. Plus, it keeps me off the street!</p> <p><strong>Q: Anything else?</strong></p> <p>JH: Well, I'm chair of the wood-shop committee, and one of the things that the wood-shop people do, in addition to helping remove things from the cottages, is they repair items for residents, so a lot of these are things that otherwise would be thrown out.</p> <p>AH: Jim repairs electrical appliances.</p> <p>JH: Well, a lot of what I do is lamps. I repaired 2 lamps yesterday.</p> <p>AH: I wondered why you hadn't come home!</p> <p>JH: The most common problem is the switch has gone bad, and it takes 10 minutes to change out a switch, and we actually charge for our time, of 12 dollars an hour, and materials, so the average cost of a new switch is like $3 for a switch and a quarter of an hour's work, which is our minimum, so $6, which is enough for people to say "oh yeah, it's worth it." If you take it to a professional it'd cost a lot more than that and they'd say, "It's cheaper to buy a new one." So that's another way of keeping stuff out of the landfill — just repurposing, or reusing things.</p> <p>When we had the renovations of our, what we call, "community spaces," that's the wood-shop, the creative arts room, the horticulture room and the hobby room, they were doing a lot of renovation, again to upgrade facilities, and I said, "Look: we've got all of these cabinets, they we taken out, we can reuse those in the community spaces." So we've used quite a few in wood-shop, creative arts and horticulture.</p> <p>AH: Otherwise all new would have been purchased.</p> <p>JH: I must say, I'm so happy with the results for the wood-shop because we had a lot more cabinets that we otherwise wouldn't have had, and the place is so well organized that people are complaining, "This doesn't look like a wood-shop anymore!"</p> <p>Q: Do you have a message that you would like to give to the Oberlin community regarding sustainability?</p> <p>JH: Yeah, I've got a message that we got from our daughter in law, because I had been beating up on her about turning out lights —</p> <p>AH: She leaves lights on while she's gone to work. Overnight, down in the kitchen. It was really hard for us to hold our tongues, and we didn't totally.</p> <p>JH: So one day she said, "I saw this sign. It says, 'there's no such place as away.' If you throw something away, it has to go somewhere, right? So I've been using that in the wood-shop, and the guys have gotten tired of hearing it!</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Melissa Thompson</h1> <p>2015-07-09T19:59:26+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr">Melissa Thompson is an Oberlin resident who has made sustainable changes in her home and daily life as a result of POWER (Providing Oberlin With Efficiency Responsibly). She has lived with her husband and three children in Oberlin for over thirteen years and believes that being environmentally conscious is a natural part of being part of this community.</p> <p><strong>Q: How would you like to be referred to as?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Just Melissa.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q:What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Diverse, community, on the cutting edge of new things, doing things in new ways, and being the first to do something.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Could you elaborate on why you chose those words?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The diversity is very important to me. I think the diversity is not in different races but in different economic status and interests. There’s a lot of opportunities I would like for my children that I would like them to be exposed to beyond my roof. They will experience things here that they might not get to in another community. Diversity is really important to me. Community because this is a community where I feel safe, I feel connected, I feel like I can have a voice and I feel like I’m really a part of making it better. This is a place where you can really do that.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to live and work in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I came to live here when my husband and I moved here thirteen years ago. We acquired this house as a gift from my step-father. Shortly after we got married, he had offered us this house and we moved in. Since then, we have had three children. We love it here and we love that we are here in this place.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. The Climate Action Plan defines it as “policies, decisions, and actions that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (7). What does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Sustainability to me means being able to make the environment better. We all have a part in sustaining what we have, and not adding or taking away from it. We can all contribute to making it better.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions do you take in regards to sustainability in your own life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: We recycle, we try to use limited water, limited electricity, we have had some work through the POWER organization to come and do an energy audit in our home, we’ve had some duct work done, we’re better at conserving heat and energy in our home. Those are the things that stand out.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Was it challenging to make those changes?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: No, I don’t think so. I think the challenge is actually just doing it consistently. I think you just have to start somewhere. POWER had done a visit in the neighborhoods, and so they came to us and it wasn’t something I sought out, but they brought it to me and it made sense that they wanted to save us money. It really has been beneficial to us in our household.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How do you think sustainable actions are important?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I guess this is kind of a cheesy answer, but they make the world a better place. We can do it one at a time, one household at a time. My influence influences, whether it’s my children or my neighbor. Or other people that I come across with sharing things that I’ve tried that maybe they might try. The more people that try sustainable actions, the more our environment is better for generations to come.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment and respect for nature.</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think everyone has a part to play. There’s so much education out there, obviously I’m not doing it the best or as well as I would like to. You know, I think that if you don’t know what to do, find out what to do. We all have a part in making our environment better. It’s not going to change just because we are talking about it. We have to actually do the work, and it’s one thing at a time. If it’s just recycling, I mean, that’s a big piece. If it’s just saving on electricity and water, composting. There are so many things we can do, if we just start somewhere, we can make it better.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: If there was just one small change yout think people could make today, what would that be?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think recycling is one thing I hadn’t done for quite a while. We just adopted that in our home more recently. It’s a habit, to not just throw everything all in one bin. Now we can put all our recycles in one thing and we don’t have to separate them. That’s been really helpful to have the trash bins that are separate like that. That’s an easy place to start, that’s not too complicated. Environmentalism really is for everyday folks for us who are working and paying taxes in the community and contributing to leaving something beyond once we’re not around anymore.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Steve Dupee</h1> <p>2015-06-16T20:29:44+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><span style="margin: 2px; float: left; display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><span style="font-size: 9px; color: #1319a4; text-align: center; display: block;">Steve Dupee (amppartners.org photo)</span></span>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">An image that comes to mind immediately is right here on my business card with wind turbines in the background, illustrating the community’s commitment to environmentally responsible power supply resources to meet our community’s electric needs with a focus on sustainability and carbon emission reduction.</p> <p><strong>Q: How did you come to work in Oberlin at OMLPS?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">After I graduated from college I worked in the private sector for a little while, however, they were jobs that I didn’t really have a passion about. A position became available at OMLPS for an Administrative Assistant to the Electric Director, and so I applied and got it, and have worked my way up through the organization over the past 22 years.</p> <p dir="ltr">OMLPS is a public power system, meaning it’s owned by the citizens and businesses of this community and it’s here solely to serve the community’s interests and create economic vitality, while striving to improve and enhance people’s lives. My father was the utility director for a small community just south of Oberlin, in Wellington, and he did that for 30 years, and so I grew up around public power, and gained an understanding of how locally owned and controlled municipal electric systems created value for their communities and citizens. Over the years, I have developed a real passion for public power. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What does the word sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Using our resources most efficiently and wisely to preserve and maintain the health and welfare of our environment for future generations.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are the actions your organization is pursuing that relate directly to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">So over the past 6 years, OMLPS, with the support and direction of Oberlin City Council, has taken a very aggressive approach to transitioning the City’s power portfolio away from fossil fuels in favor of renewable and carbon neutral sources of power. The catalytic moment for developing and implementing this power supply strategy was during a community debate on whether or not the City should participate in a coal-fired generation project under development by the City’s wholesale power provider. The opportunity for debate and discussion allowed the community to speak in one loud voice, and say that they wanted their local municipal electric system to begin transitioning away from fossil fuels in its power portfolio to help address issues surrounding climate change.</p> <p dir="ltr">The transition to renewable and carbon neutral sources of power has been challenging, but we have really made significant strides towards that effort. In fact, by 2017, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with our power portfolio will be reduced by 85%, and that is a significant transition in a really short time— a five year period between 2012 and 2017. We will also have about 85% renewable/carbon neutral power supply resources in our power portfolio by then.</p> <p dir="ltr">I think this conversation about energy and climate really helped us understand that in addition to reliable electric service and competitively priced power, the community believed environmental stewardship should be equally as important. That guidance has helped us make better decisions about our power portfolio and other services the community desires.</p> <p dir="ltr">For example, OMLPS has implemented a more robust and aggressive energy efficiency program for the residents and businesses in the community, and we have been able to partner with other organizations, such as the Oberlin Project and the local non-profit POWER (Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly) to help us achieve the city’s overall climate goals.</p> <p><strong>Q: Are there any specific parts of the Climate Action Plan that OMLPS has been working on?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Of course that plan is a living document and will continue on— in fact the plan requires an update every five years to ensure that progress is being made towards greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.</p> <p dir="ltr">The plan lays out specific greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for by 2015, 2030, and 2050 but also includes interim goals that focus on continuous efforts, strategies and measures to help the community reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Transition of the City’s power portfolio has been the most significant focus since the electricity sector accounts for 55% of all the community-wide greenhouse gas emissions in the city, so that sector garnered the most attention initially. </p> <p dir="ltr">Other efforts have included support for local development and construction of renewable generation including a partnership with Oberlin College to interconnect their 2-megawatt solar project to the City’s distribution system. Our first effort on the transportation front was the procurement and installation of the first city-owned electric vehicle charging station downtown behind old City Hall.</p> <p dir="ltr">Now that the City has nearly completed its power supply transition, it will begin to focus on the next two largest green house gas emission sectors - natural gas usage for heating and transportation sources. That’s going to be a more challenging effort, but I think one that the city is up for.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Does OMLPS see a big responsibility in relaying the importance of energy efficiency in people’s everyday lives, and how ultimate energy reduction is a big part of energy efficiency?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Yes. It is our duty and responsibility to help customers save energy costs and reduce wasteful or inefficient energy use. OMLPS is committed to delivering the best service and providing value for every energy dollar our customers spend. </p> <p dir="ltr">Some people will ask me, “Steve, don’t you want to sell more power?” No, we do not want to sell more power. Developing, constructing and operating large centralized power generation resources to serve electric customers, is very complex and challenging with many risks. Energy efficiency is much easier to implement and deliver with less environmental impact and greater cost savings to the customer.</p> <p dir="ltr">Truly, the easiest kilowatt hour to generate and deliver is the one we never have to due to energy efficiency and conservation. For OMLPS and our customers, energy efficiency must be the number one priority.</p> <p><strong>Q: What is your vision for Oberlin once the goals of the city’s Climate Action Plan are met, or begin to be increasingly met?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">To me I hope our plan can be replicated across the country. Oberlin cannot solve the problems of climate change on our own, of course, so I hope what we do here can be replicated in other communities and lessons learned in Oberlin and can be applied elsewhere.</p> <p dir="ltr">The shift in attitudes regarding climate change is happening. We have a president of the US who supports action to address climate change, and in fact, a number of actions by the USEPA are taking place now to move us in that direction. A more environmentally responsible way of living is going to be necessary if we’re really going to be able to protect what we enjoy today.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Carol Lasser</h1> <p>2015-06-10T14:55:28+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr">Carol Lasser is Professor of History at Oberlin College and has lived and worked in Oberlin for 36 years. She has a long history with the Ben Franklin and the owner, Krista Long, and serves as a member of the board of the Bill Long Foundation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are some words or images that you would use to describe Oberlin</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Oh, that’s an interesting thing! Quirky, intellectual, musical. What can I say...civic minded, progressive. Some images, the Ben Franklin, Tappan Square. I think of the public library, and I think of that funky 1930s post office.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How did you come to be in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I was hired for a job in the history department 36 years ago. It wasn’t a hard decision at all. I felt enormously fortunate to get a job, and beyond that enormously fortunate to get a job at Oberlin, an amazing liberal arts college. I’m a 19th century historian, so I probably knew more about Oberlin in the 19th century than the 20th century, but I knew more about its history than most people who come to town. I knew what I was going into.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: The next question gets more into sustainability. The way the environmental studies department defines sustainability is with 3 Es: environment, economy, and equity. What is sustainability to you? How would you define it?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: That’s a really helpful definition, because I don’t think I have a really good definition. It’s investing in the future.</p> <p><strong>Q: Are there any things that you do in your life that fits your definition?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, I recycle. I’ve invested a lot of emotional energy in my three grown children. I think that’s actually really important. We talked a lot about values. We talked a lot about social justice.</p> <p><strong>Q: Tell me about your connection to the Ben Franklin</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well the Ben Franklin has been here for forever and ever right? So I’ve watched a lot of changes to downtown Oberlin, and I’ve watched the Ben Franklin go through a couple of iterations, and I have really always appreciated the Ben Franklin as an alternative to going out of town to malls. So I buy everything I possibly can at the Ben Franklin, it’s a great place.</p> <p dir="ltr">So the Ben Franklin to me is, well, a locally owned business. It’s great to have a locally owned business. It’s great to be able to walk to town and buy things that you could buy elsewhere, but instead you can shop locally.</p> <p>Back in the bad old days when I first moved here, we had a bookstore that really was a co-op. The manager of that for many years was Krista’s father, who was the famous Bill Long. Bill Long ran a great co-op book store, and I bought most of my books there. When it became Barnes and Noble I stopped buying books at Barnes and Noble, and when eventually Mindfair became part of the Ben Franklin I was thrilled and went back to buying books at Mindfair. Krista, in a way, carries on a great deal of that tradition.</p> <p dir="ltr">I’m also a member of the board of the Bill Long Foundation. It is a local community foundation, we call it good money for good people, and it gives grants for local stuff that runs everything from school trips for kids who can’t afford it to grants for the local senior citizen’s center, or to various different community projects. It’s the only foundation that you will ever find any place in the world that has community participation on how to give away money. I’m not kidding, it is one of the coolest things. Krista is also a member of that board, representing Bill Long’s ideals. So I see Krista as continuing some of the things that I really liked about the community connections that came out of the co-op book store, now you can find them in the Ben Franklin.</p> <p dir="ltr">I buy everything I can there, I love it. They traditionally have really great toys. They have really interesting things, they have great kids books, they have puzzles. It’s just a really fun place. And again, I buy everything I can there. I don’t want to go the mall unless I have to. She runs a community minded enterprise.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Can you tell me about anything specific that the Ben Franklin does?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: They are just a good presence. They are good community citizens. [Krista] really cares about the community. She does a lot of outreach herself, but she’s there as a kind of anchor. She hires people who other people wouldn’t hire, her father was one of the first people to hire people of color to be salespeople in downtown Oberlin. These are good progressive values.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is there anything that you would want to tell fellow community members that hasn’t come up?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think we’re all aware that shopping locally is really really important. I think we’re all aware that local businesses know the people in the community, and help the people in the community. I know a dollar spent in the community will stay in the community. We can say all those things and be civic minded and sustainably minded, but I also just think she has a great sense of what to stock. It’s fun to shop there.</p> <p dir="ltr">I think it’s important to support community businesses, but only if the businesses, on the other hand, are also supporting the community, and this is a model for that. It’s a good place.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Kelly Molesky</h1> <p>2015-06-01T18:38:23+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How have you interacted with the Dashboard?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well, I work at the Oberlin Public Library, so it’s in my library. I turn it on every morning. I have also noticed over time how people will come in just to look at it, which is kind of cool. I think kids get a real kick out of the animation with the squirrel. I am also realizing that it is a great way to advertise the programs going on here. And yeah, it’s a cool tool.</p> <p><strong>And what words would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Awesome! Oberlin is awesome; it’s such a great town, there are so many things to do, and it’s diverse. I have a 5 year old and I feel completely safe raising her here. I have also worked here for over 15 years and in town even before then. And now I have a house here. I just think it’s a great place to live and grow old.</p> <p><strong>And how did you come to move to Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I actually grew up in a small town about ten miles from here in Wellington, Ohio. And this was my safe zone growing up to get away from Wellington where there isn’t much to do, not much diversity. I felt like I was understood here. Both my brothers and I would all come, my mom and dad would just drop us off here. I have done a lot of traveling in my life, but I have always ended up back here.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>In what ways have you engaged with the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I engage with the Oberlin community every day. At my job, at work--in the library--it’s a community center. But not only that. Living here, my neighbors, and my daughter has spent a few years in Kendal and now is in the public schools, so it is kind of crazy how you grow here, and your circles continue to grow and grow. And of course I have the community outlook from the library, but now I’m getting it from other places too: first it was Kendal, and now it’s the school. I also worked here in Oberlin before I started the library, waitressing at some of the restaurants in town. It’s just crazy as the years go by and your circle grows. I can't walk down the street without being stopped five times to have a conversation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What words would you use to describe sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It means all-in-all a better life for my child. I think it is really important that we want to live in a world that when she is older, she will be able to thrive in it. I guess that is what it means to me the most. Making sure to take care of it now to sustain now so that our future and our children’s future. If it were to go, we would be in big trouble.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Are there ways that the library has been engaging in sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Oh yeah, we constantly recycle our paper. And we recycle everything. That includes people that walk in with cans and what have you. I try to recycle. I do a lot of art displays. I try to recycle everything I do from year to year. I think that all of us who work here try to reuse as much as we can. Not only for sustaining reasons, but also for our budget, it just makes sense that less is more.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Is there anything you would tell fellow oberlin community members regarding concern for the environment?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">It’s a beautiful thing that needs to be protected. And I think we have a pretty great council that agrees with most of the opinions or attitudes that Oberlinians tend to have. In all honesty, I don't have any concerns about which direction Oberlin is going in. I think it is all headed in the right direction. I think some things need a little work. Obviously right now we don't have any recycling, but they are working on that. Money plays a role there, and you can only do what you can do, but I think we are headed in the right direction. I definitely don't see us going backwards.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Sal Talarico</h1> <p>2015-05-21T15:41:48+00:00</p> <p align="justify" class="style8" style="text-align: left;"><em>Mr. Sal Talarico is the Finance Director for the City of Oberlin and manages the city’s finance department. He has served the City of Oberlin for 15 years, and a total of 20 years in the public sector. The finance department is responsible for financial reporting, liability, property and health insurances, utility billing, revenue collections, accounts payable, payroll, treasury and investment management, income tax collections and administration, and debt management. </em></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><strong>What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Images would be that of some sort of nature picture, trees, clean rivers, that would be an image of Oberlin. [Oberlin is] at the forefront of key issues, not just environmental, but just about everything.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What does the word sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Survival.</p> <p><strong>What actions are you (personally or with the city) pursuing to achieve this sustainability in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Most of the sustainability efforts are addressed through other departments- water, wastewater, electric, buildings and grounds division reports to the city manager as well. Here in finance, I have really just 4 people reporting to me, and we help all the other departments, but those decisions on sustainability come from those departments. I know the city has done quite a bit in sustainability especially in its electric generation. But citywide I think there’s a culture for all employees to be as conscious of recycling and energy conservation. I think our employees are very conscious of those things. I think all employers are focusing on those things and I think that the employees in town in particular, whether they’re city or not, have a good grasp of sustainability and, that seems to be a positive trend in my opinion, nationwide and hopefully in the world as well. I think we probably excel more than others.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Do you see a focus on local or sustainable purchasing as important? Why?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">We’re in a global economy, so that’s becoming more and more difficult especially with being able to order things through the Internet. Buying locally makes sense if, I think for instance, you don’t remember Leah, but I grew up in a time where I could walk down the street and go to the baker, I could go to a butcher shop, that had a deli, and get within walking distance, really everything you needed.</p> <p dir="ltr">Are we getting back to that? I don’t know if we can, but maybe something similar. I’ve talked to other people about this, at least from my perspective, it has nothing to do with finance, it just has to do with me personally, about this eco system, this economic ecosystem. Where you have the city in the center of it and then you have, I guess its not too dissimilar to this greenbelt, maybe a greenbelt would be part of it, where you can grow and raise crops and animals to help sustain the city without having to truck it in, plane it in, whatever the case is. But also, you have to have businesses in there, you have to be able to produce something, because otherwise, all you are is a consumer, and not producing anything that helps those outside of your economic ecosystem. What that would be, that would be also sustainable, I don’t know that I know the answer to that.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How can Oberlin community members get involved in creating a more sustainable, more locally focused sustainable economic?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I don’t know that we could get more involved than we already are. But I guess if I could wave a magic wand, what would that be? You know, our goals are all the same. People sometimes argue about sustainability and green, but if you boil it down, 99.9% of the residents, businesses, and people that come to town have the same goals, and that is some sort of sustainability-making sure that this planet is here for our children and grandchildren. The only time we seem to bicker is how we get there. So it’s refreshing, and I think we need to focus on the refreshing piece of it, that our focus and our objectives are all the same. And that is refreshing. So now it’s just a matter of how we get there. And that’s the part we shouldn’t bicker about, but that’s the part we should work together to figure out a way that makes sense. </p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Alison Ricker</h1> <p>2015-04-27T19:12:46+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><em>Alison Ricker is a Science Librarian at Oberlin College. She has held this position for thirty-one years. She has also collaborated with other science librarians in Ohio to present a poster at the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, on digitization projects in the sciences among the Five Colleges of Ohio.</em></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><em> </em></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Friendly. Small. Walkable. How many do you want? My home [laughs]. Peaceful. Green. That’s all I can think of!</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Why would you choose that/those words or images?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, I thought of Tappan Square, and that’s where the peaceful and green came from. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else in my life, so it must be my home, even though I tell people that I’m from Michigan or Pennsylvania depending on what time period in my life they’re asking about. I’ve always found it to be very friendly, and when I travel somewhere else and walk by people on the street, if they don’t even look at me, let alone say hello, I’ll think, “Wow, if I was in Oberlin, people would at least look at me and smile!” And I know so many of the people who work in the stores downtown and they know me, so it’s very friendly.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How is it you came to live and work in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I came here for my job at Oberlin College. I was at a protest in 1982 in Washington D.C. and there was this enormous banner that said “Oberlin for Peace and Justice” and a bunch of students, probably a whole busload of students, were holding up the banner—this was when people were calling for a nuclear freeze—and I thought, “Wow, that’s really cool! Here’s a school that has sent an entire busload of people to this nuclear freeze protest!” So when the job opening came up, I was very interested. It just fits well with my idea of social justice and ecological awareness.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Can you expand on that a little bit?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, I’m a Science Librarian and I came from a Biology major background with a strong emphasis in ecology, and am very interested in making our ecosystem as healthy and sustainable as possible. I feel that Oberlin has that same level of consciousness, generally, and works hard to ensure that other people have that same understanding.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance or maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean to you and what does it mean in your life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, it certainly means those things but it also means making conscious decisions that don’t hurt other people, other living beings, or any part of the world in which we live. For example, sustainable would be not just buying organic products but also ones that were not sold to you through slave labor or underpaying workers, which means buying fair trade products. I think fair trade products are a good indicator of sustainability so that the whole cycle of production and consumption is done in thinking about how we are living on this planet and to ensure that future generations will also be able to live here and live in balance with all other species.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Primarily as a supporter through donations to groups like Sierra Club or the National Resources Defense Council, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Environmental Defense Fund, among others. I often send $25-$50 contributions and at the end of the year realize I’m sending all kinds of small contributions to many groups. I also respond very often to calls and email requests to sign an online petition or send a letter to a legislator or someone in a position to make decisions that impact the environment. But I don’t, outside of my own personal way of living, I don’t go out and proselytize that much. I was involved in a group called the Interfaith Committee on the Environment or ICE, which represented several churches in the area, not just churches but any kind of faith or spirituality group, that joined together to raise awareness for environmental issues within our own religious groups and faith-based communities. I’ve also participated in some calls to action from FaCT, the Faith Communities Together for Frack Awareness here in northeast Ohio.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What is your favorite part about your job?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: My favorite part would be building collections—meaning from print and electronic resources—that help to inform and engage people about what I think are some of the most important issues facing us, and that would be understanding climate change, working towards a healthier environment, and understanding why that is important beyond just the economic considerations that some people seem to focus on solely, and taking a more holistic view. So it’s creating an environment for both learning and study where students, especially, feel that they are supported in whatever they’re doing as they’re studying.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: If you could look 20 years into the future, what would you like to see stay the same in Oberlin? What would you like to see change?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: It would be great to see more people adopting a vegetarian way of life because I believe that our reliance on mass production of livestock is simply unsustainable. It requires so much water, so much land, and so much fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide use, so it would be great if we could all start living lower on the food chain. Also, the Green Belt vision for around Oberlin, I really like. It would be wonderful if that was flourishing and there were all kinds of farmers and other producers that were providing local goods and produce and that we were all taking advantage of that. For example, my husband and I often buy spinach that comes in those plastic bins, that’s already been pre-washed and I don’t know where it was grown. It’s so convenient, but I know at the same time that it’s not the most sustainable way for me to eat spinach. I should be buying spinach at the George Jones farm, or another local grower but it’s hard to grow spinach and have it year-round here. So, those kinds of tradeoffs are hard to make for personal reasons.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or sustainable living or respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: I think I would encourage us all to be much more mindful about how we eat, what we eat, what we wear, where those things come from, the impact that they have on the environment and on the humans that produce them. And it’s a difficult thing to do because when you’re in the store, at the moment, and you want or need a particular thing, it’s very hard to stop and think about how it got produced, and where, and who was negatively impacted by it, and who benefitted from it, perhaps unfairly. But those are the kinds of considerations that I wish everyone could be keep in mind. And not just mindful, but, you know—and this is true of myself—also able to live with my conscience much more consistently. I wish I was much more consistent in acting out my own beliefs, so for me to suggest that other people should do that when I don’t always do it myself is not completely honest. But that’s what I would like to see.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ian Yarber</h1> <p>2015-04-17T18:29:30+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Ian Yarber is the head of the Recreation Department of Oberlin. He oversees recreation-related activities around in the town. He was born in Oberlin, and returned here about 17 years ago. Ian has a three year-old daughter.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What comes to mind when you think of Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’ve always thought of it as a small, cosmopolitan town. Because you have all these diverse people. The college brings in a lot of diversity. But even the...community—its a diverse community. I can say you can see the diversity on the campus, just like I can see the diversity in the community. A lot of small communities don’t have that diversity, and Oberlin does.</p> <p dir="ltr">I think Oberlin’s always been cutting-edge, on a number of things, whether it’s support of education: not just the college but the schools, the local schools…Just the way the community supports endeavors for young people. They continue to support that environment that helps young people – children, college students—just be able to come and be educated, and go out into the world. To me, Oberlin gives that whole…rapping our arms around the community and helping it grow, and set the foundation for life. Oberlin’s college, and community sets the foundation for people to move on in life. I see it as a big family environment. With all families, you have your own issues within your own families. But still to me, it has that family environment. I think it’s a nurturing community for people.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What sort of actions is the Recreation Department involved in that relate directly to the well-being of the environment?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: We have a recreation complex where we sell concessions. One of the first things we did was look at, in selling concessions, that we weren’t gonna use styrofoam to serve food and stuff in. We also have recycle bins, so we try to recycle—not only water bottles, but we try to recycle the cardboard. We try to do it in the best friendly, environmental way. So we have no styrofoam, we have no glass, and most of the plastics we use are recyclable plastics. We try to use things that can be recycled, that are not as harmful to the environment that way.</p> <p dir="ltr">Our afterschool program…the things that we serve them, we try to do locally grown. If not locally grown, it’s purchased at IGA, so we try to not have a big footprint on the environment. If we purchase things, [we] try to purchase them locally in terms of products that we might use in our programs…knowing that, part of the carbon footprint in trucking things in and out. So, as much as we can do it locally without that, we try to.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What different programs does the Rec Department oversee? What sorts of things go on in these programs?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The city has an afterschool program, that we run at Eastwood Elementary School. It’s for kindergardeners through 5th grade. Our afterschool program goes Mondays, Wedneday, and Fridays. Just three days a week, afterschool until 6 PM. So at that program…we help them with their homework. We give them a snack. They do games. We do try to get them out moving—especially if it’s nice enough. They go on the playground. We might do kickball games in the gym. We might do jumprope in the gym. We do arts crafts games. You know, a lot of those things.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Rec Complex—I oversee the scheduling of games out there. Who plays—where, when and why. That’s baseball, softball games, for kids. That could be baseball, softball games for adults. Soccer games. Leagues. Practices. Tournament games…you have about 220 soccer games a year out there, and you’re doing about 400 and some-odd baseball and softball games out there.</p> <p dir="ltr">I oversee city programs—afterschool program. A small kids wrestling program, introduction to wrestling program. Youth basketball, which is probably about 7 or 8 weeks on Saturdays: we teach the fundamentals of basketball. We do a basketball camp in the summertime for two weeks from nine to noon for boys and girls.</p> <p dir="ltr">Our largest program is our Playground Program – Summer Playground Program – which is a six week summer program. Registered this past year was about 270 kids. In that camp, they do arts, craft, games. They go bowling, certain days. They go swimming every Friday, for the six weeks…They do a lot in that program.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then we have a program for teens called the Open Gym Program. Teenagers are something that we’re always wrestling with, to try to engage them…They’re just a changing group. And then we do other programs, like a bootcamp in the park…an earth day 5K run in April. And we’re trying to revamp that, to add more things. We’re looking at other programs.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: In thinking about sustainability, and the social health and well-being of the community, what do you think these programs give to Oberlin kids?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I look at the Playground Camp. Our Playground Program goes five days a week, from 10 AM to 3 PM. That is a large chunk of time. I think without that there would be a lot of kids left, really, unsupervised. Left to sit at home at their own devices and come up with probably good things, and not so good things, to do. As opposed now, they’re in a supervised, pretty much controlled environment, with trained staff who can make sure the things they’re doing is safe.</p> <p dir="ltr">We do so many things with them…parents might not have been able to take them to splash zone, once a week in the summer. They might not have been able to go bowling, once a week. They might not have been to go to Birds of Prey—as opposed to a child getting to sit there with their friends, and get to see an Eagle, and a Hawk, and an Owl. Just the different things that keep them active and engaged. I think that program brings value to the community.</p> <p dir="ltr">Our basketball camp, we call a mini-hoop camp…they can come to a basketball camp, learn some basketball skills, have some fun, and get a basketball shirt, a trophy…</p> <p dir="ltr">Also, some of those statistics show that kids that are in afterschool program do a lot better in school, because they do their homework and they do get help with their homework.</p> <p dir="ltr">So, I see value in all of it. I see that it’s just helping…a lot of those programs, help with...the fiber of the community…taking care of the community. Having things that children can do incorporated within this small community of Oberlin—that they can get all those things here. I see value in it. And I’ve told people – sports are one thing, a basketball camp is one thing. But I also tell people: “I can teach life lessons within those sports.” How to be a team player. How to be able to deal with wins and losses. You gonna win some, you gonna lose some. You gonna deal with losses in your life, because losses are gonna happen in your life. So, to deal with those things, those emotions, and tell them that, “This is all apart of growing up…as you walk through life…you know, the hard work. I see children that come there [basketball camp], that can’t make a layup. And in two weeks, they can make that layup. There are those things that I see value in—in the community, for the children of this community.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Do these programs promote any personally healthy habits for Oberlin kids?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: We talk to kids about healthy choices. And that’s one of the biggest things. We try to encourage that in afterschool, in our snacks. We do maybe baked potato chips, but we also do carrots and vegetables…You start talking about healthy food choice. Because if they go home, it’s probably gonna be chips, candy. It could just be candy, and just junk food all-together. As opposed to…we’re introducing some of them to carrots, and celery, and unsweetened tea…as opposed to pop, and some of the other things that they could be getting at home.</p> <p dir="ltr">And I do hear some of the parents say, “I don’t know how you did this, but my child has asked me to pick up baby carrots at the grocery store! And he’s never wanted carrots before. I guess he’s eating it there, and he likes them, so now I get them.” So, I do know that there is success in that. That there’s change in the thought of some of the kids…When they sit at the table, the peers eat that: “Oh I want that, I want grapes or whatever.” “Oh, I want grapes.” So if they see their peers eating it this way, a lot times they don’t wanna be left out of that peer group, they eat the grapes, and the baby carrots. So, it helps, if they find out that grapes are sweet, they’re not nasty – and grapes and oranges are not bad for you – they’re pretty good.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Do you see ways in which what the Oberlin Recreation Department offers benefits the sustainability of the community as a whole, beyond the kids?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: There are those things that I see value in, in the community, for the children of this community…And the value not just for the children, but the values in the parents too: that they have a comfort zone enough that they can leave a child here, and not worry about the,m because they know they’re in a fun, safe enviroment. They can go to work, or wherever, and pick them up at a certain time…and know that their child is gonna be fine. So there’s value in that, too. Because a parent…whether they’re working full-time or seasonal or part-time…might say, “Oh, I gotta get back by noon to pick my child up, and how I’m gona do this? I’m working over here in Avon. How am I gonna get back here and get back to work? You know, I can’t.” Then you have to give them the choice of – can I work this job? But when the community is such that they say “Ok, I don’t have to worry about that. They’re gonna be able to go to this program, and I’m off work when that program is over…” All those programs, there’s value in the community.</p> <p dir="ltr">And it’s the coming together. Back here at Park Street Park – for years I wanted them to have a new playground, and they would say, “What’s a new playground gonna do for that park?” And I would say, “Well, it’s more than just a playground. It’s where kids come to play, and where a parent takes a kid, they get to meet other parents. It’s a bringing of the community together.” It’s more than just a playground. When you have a public park and a playground, it’s bringing the community together around play…Or, “if I can bring my younger kid to play, and my twelve year-old can go over there and shoot hoops, and the library’s right behind me, I can get a book and sit at a picnic table, read my book while my kids play and get some exercise.” That’s some of those things.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What would be your message to the Oberlin community, in thinking about a healthy and sustainable lifestyle?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I keep this little thing on my desk – “Get out and play.”</p> <p>Just because you don’t play baseball, softball, tennis, golf--doesn’t stop you from getting out and playing. You can get out and throw a frisbee. You don’t have to be athletic to do a lot of things. I tell kids all the time: “Just because you’re playing basketball doesn’t mean you have to be trying out for a team.” You could just shoot, for exercise. Some of those things…some fun, exercise, a game…Those are some of the things that I really like. Just to get ‘em back, you know…“Get out and play.”</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Krista Long</h1> <p>2015-03-27T19:57:17+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: Let’s see…progressive, beautiful, historic, small town, musical.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Why would you choose these words/images? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, music because there are just so many wonderful concerts and performances going on in Oberlin with the Conservatory and the world-class musicians who come in to perform. I, myself, am especially fond of that because I’ve played a lot of music in my life. I play the piano and the cello. So, you know, it’s one of the clearest ways that Oberlin excels. It’s a beautiful small town. This part of Ohio is just so lush at this time of the year, but northern Ohio is beautiful even in the middle of winter! Small town because that’s what it is. Sometimes we like to pretend that we’re something else, more urban, and we are very cosmopolitan in some ways, but we still are a very small town in a very rural county, which we need to remember. Then there’s also the historic aspect of Oberlin and its origins, and the work that this community has done since its beginnings. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How is it that you came to open your business in Oberlin? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: I was born and raised in Oberlin. I went away to college and came back, not intending to stay. I worked at the Co-Op Bookstore for about ten years. After that I worked for an Wit & Wisdom in Cleveland during the heyday of the independent book sellers in the 80’s and 1990’s. Then I worked for Nacscorp here in Oberlin, part of the National Association of College Stores, as a buyer and marketing manager. So basically, I’ve been a bookseller most of my life. When my job at NACS came to an end, I decided that used books was an aspect of bookselling that I didn’t know much about, and it seemed like a good thing to try, especially because at that time, the Co-op was dissolving. That store was closing, so it seemed appropriate to open another store, which I did, where Lupita’s is now. Shortly after that, I learned that Ben Franklin was for sale. I came in here and looked around and I saw that there was a lot of room for books—that we could move everything over and make room for books, which was what happened. It’s just been evolving ever since. Certainly, I never thought I would own Ben Franklin and have a used bookstore in it, if you’d asked me when I was your age, I would have laughed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How has the town changed since your time growing up here? If you could look 20 or 30 years into the future, what would you like to see change further (if anything)?</strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, there are many things that are really just the same. There are still lots of great music and art going on, it’s still a great place to raise your family; it’s still a beautiful place. How it’s changed? I feel like it’s become a little more isolated in terms of its local location and less isolated in terms of its widespread reputation. Lots more people seem to come from outside of Oberlin for various reasons—the students, the academics, the performers--historic tourism has brought a lot more people to Oberlin from around Ohio, but not just local, a bit broader than that. It’s become a little more dominated by the college than it was 40 years ago. It’s always been one of the most significant parts of the community. But I think it’s even more so today, especially considering the downtown is less retail-oriented than it used to be before the malls and big box store took their toll, being much more restaurant and entertainment-oriented. A lot of the reasons for that are the students, staff, and faculty who exist at Oberlin today. I also don’t think the community is as diverse as it once was.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: The nature of our business is that we’re a variety store, so we sell a bunch of different things—a little bit of everything is what I commonly hear said in the store—for people who don’t want to or can’t go out of town for certain items and basic shopping for school and office supplies, beauty supplies, and household goods. Because we have such a small and concentrated mix of things, I try very hard to have a good mix of things—so we want something inexpensive and generic, something brand-name, and we want something organic, kind of to represent the different needs of people. I like to try to have a couple of choices in a lot of different areas. Another thing is that I try to offer small packages. Most people don’t want to buy 12 pens; they want to buy two pens, or maybe one. I’m still committed to the books, though it’s not what it used to be, considering how long I’ve been a bookseller, it’s at its nadir for brick and mortar stores, but we’re taking lots of great used books off of shelves in Oberlin and area residents. I like the idea that we are recycling these books back into the reading community. I feel that used bookstores are going to survive the onslaught of mega etailers like Amazon better than some physical stores, so we keep trying to stay alive, find new ways to do business within our communities. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and business owner? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: Like I said, with the books, it’s about offering reading material in a sustainable way and keeping things out of landfill and keeping things from being trashed when they’re perfectly good literature. The idea of not having to drive your car to buy merchandise and instead being able to bike or walk to get it—or, if you choose to drive, only having to drive a mile downtown to get what you need instead of loading up your car and waiting a long time to get what you need. A lot of times, I think you find that you load up on things you don’t need. For us, it’s important—to me, it’s important—to offer natural and organic, or at least low impact environmentally friendly products. I mean, I do have some products that wouldn’t fit that description, but I know that I prefer the lowest impact products that I can find, and so I like to make them available to other people. And by-and-large, it’s gotten to the point where those products are affordable and top quality. It used to be pretty pricey to buy those products and it’s not anymore. Obviously, many people like that kind of an option here, so I’m feeding the desires of our local population as well. I think the idea of keeping the money in our community is a sustainable concept as well. We pay local taxes, support our community projects, hire local folk, and tailor what we offer to our customers. This is really what sustainability is about for me. </p> <p><strong> Q: What advice/tips would you offer to other business owners who are interested in adopting sustainable initiatives? </strong> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: First of all, there’s lots of things we can do within our business to lower your utility usage. For example, when we put in the ceiling fans it was shocking how much natural gas we saved by doing that. At one point, our furnace guy was here he aimed his temperature gage up at the ceiling, it was 85 degrees up there in the middle of the winter! So we run the fans all year round, they’re not just a cooling thing. At the same time, we also replaced our lighting—there was a state grant available—and we decided that if we were already fixing the lighting, we might as well add fans at the same time. So we did, and it’s just amazing. We also replaced the both of our entrance doors, the old front door had a huge gap. Snow would come in through that gap! Again just replacing that door, again, it has saved us lots of money on utilities. I’d love to be able to replace the windows. I can’t afford to do that and I don’t own the building, so that’s not really possible, although I am paying the utilities [laughs]! We do little things like turning the lights off when we leave the basement, recycling any trash that we can, minimizing our waste if possible, or reusing materials, selling scrap matboard instead of throwing it away. Everybody has their own issues with their own businesses and they know their own business better than anybody else.</p> <p dir="ltr">We have made attempts to brand the concept of “keeping it local” but it’s very hard to market the idea, and it’s something we need to do a better job of communicating. The turnover in population is high in Oberlin, you know, new students every year, and new faculty/staff, so it takes a constant and ever-changing effort. People come to the area looking for things that are familiar, you know, brands that they know. Where’s the Chipolte/Target/Lowe’s/fill-in-the-blank chain store? We do have most of what people need here in Oberlin, it’s just not the store they know. So we need to do a better job of communicating that to our community. We ALL need to support our neighbors. Try Agave! Ben Franklin probably has that. Did you look at Ginko? Try Watson’s. This is what have to say to support our town, our neighbors. I think for the most part, here in town, people are quite aware of the impact they’re having on the environment and they’re trying to do business in as sustainable of a manner as possible, but it really does take effort and awareness to keep it up.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - City of Oberlin, General Maintenance Division Employees</h1> <p>2015-03-20T20:16:50+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"> <br><span style="margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; display: inline-table;" class="wf_caption"><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Will Blackmon</span></span> <span class="wf_caption" style="display: inline-table;"><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Johnny Moore</span></span></p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><strong>General Maintenance Department: <br>Will Blackman, Dave Spreng </strong>(not pictured)<strong>, Johnny Moore, Steve Suvar </strong>(not pictured)</p> <p dir="ltr">The workers of Oberlin’s General Maintenance Department are at the heart of our community, making sure the town runs smoothly in rain, snow, and sunshine alike. I spoke with Will Blackman, Dave Spreng, Johnny Moore, and Steve Suvar about their work and lives in Oberlin.</p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Will</span>: Nice place to live, nice environment, small town with small town atmosphere. More in depth about social rights, green living all that kind of stuff that other cities are just starting to worry about.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Dave</span>: I think Oberlin is diversified… and state of the art really, we always try to stay cutting edge.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Steve</span>: College town, not wanting to grow like other communities because we try to keep a lot of the industry out. Making sure things stay grassroots.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Johnny</span>: Unique – the different makeup of individuals that come together in the community. It attracts different people from other locations, which allows residents to interact and get to know different types of people.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community.” What does sustainability mean in your life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Johnny</span>: Being able to use resources, and yet not to take away the opportunity for others to use those same resources. We don’t want to do something that damages the environment to a degree that no one else can come and use that resource after you. We should consume natural resources adequately so others can use them. Sharing and working together to conserve, as a community.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Dave:</span> Sustainability to me overall… is saving the planet, and everybody has to have a part of that.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Will</span>: Mak[ing] sure everything is in line. You want your life to be as suitable as it can be...You want to be able to do what you want to do without having to worry about anything interfering with it. You don’t want have to worry about something that would come and mess up your stability in terms of the environment. A community that provides security.<br><br></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Will</span>: Plowing snow, I mean everything with the maintenance, it’s not automatic. And it’s a lot harder than what people think. We’re public servants. We handle the grounds work, the streets, the sewers.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Steve:</span> Totally. I mean, we work with wastewater, we chip brush, suck up leaves, plow snow, fix storm sewers, clean sanitary… We pretty much do everything in the town dealing with environmental aspects.<br><br></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Any advice for your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living respect for nature?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Dave</span>: Well, especially being a garbage man, and being able to see the landfill firsthand, and knowing what a landfill is, and how important it is to keep certain materials out of the landfill…. I try to educate people. And also for recycling I try to steer people to be sustainable, to be able to reuse, renew, and do all that … and to me personally, I’ve always done that but I think that people don’t understand the environmental aspects of what the world is going to be in 25 years if they don’t do their share. And people get in this rut… its kind of like people who don’t vote…They think.. well what can one voice make a difference? But it can! Because if you have a normal family in Oberlin or any other city… you’re going to have kids, they’re going to have kids, and you may see 4 or 5 generations before you die. And with all those kids it may end up being a lot of people if you can influence them to recycle, re-use, and renew. Think about it, it takes a few families to make a big difference. But there is still a lot of people in Oberlin that just recycle plastic, and they think that’s recycling. When they should be doing newspaper, glass… I think they need to be more educated, to the fact of exactly what all you can recycle, and why you should and why it’s a responsibility. You know that’s why we make it free, so it’ll enhance people to do that…. Some of them still don’t…</p> <p dir="ltr">I’d like to help them understand in some way how easy it is to recycle, and make people know how important it is. I get more kids to do it than parents!… because I use to go speak at schools, take my truck down there, and explain to them what recycling is all about…sometimes you have to get to the kids to get to the parents, because the parents were born in an era, where they really don’t care. People...think recycling is hard, because you have to put a couple buckets in your kitchen or whatever…I put one big container, and then I take it out and sort it in my garage, and I mean it doesn’t take any longer. And you know you don’t put all that stuff into the landfill. If people would understand that bottles take 125 years to decompose, and you’ve got a lot of beer drinkers here, college kids man, party houses… And college kids, they’re good about it, even the off campus houses… very good recyclers. ...if you could get these general people, the normal residents to understand that glass takes that long to break down…people whine about how big landfills are, but they’re not doing anything to make them smaller.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Johnny</span>: What I would like to see is for people to be more conscious of the way we use our resources, so that whatever things we to do, it doesn’t create a negative impact for the ones that come after us.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Matt Adelman</h1> <p>2015-03-16T19:05:12+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Matt Adelman (whose wife is the Assistant Director of the Oberlin Project) is an Oberlin resident and one of the owners of The Feve. He genuinely loves Oberlin and is committed to care for both the environment and the Oberlin community. He has taken steps with The Feve such as a recycling initiative, a lighting retrofit, and fundraisers for local non-profits.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are some words and images you would use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The first thing I think of is that Oberlin is changing. It’s a good time to be in Oberlin. I feel like there are some remarkable things happening that have a lot to do with the Oberlin Project. It’s a really important time for Oberlin as a community to come together with the college to have Oberlin stand out as something. Oberlin has a history of standing out in the world. Those things tend to be cyclical. So I think now is our opportunity for Oberlin as an entire community, college and city, to be a leader in something. And that is the Oberlin Project. I think that there are a lot of people in town that are encouraged by the possibility that brings and certainly we are at the Feve. I see it as an opportunity for businesses and residents and students to participate in something that is bigger than what many other places are doing in our country, and maybe set some examples for other places around the world.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: I’m curious how you would define sustainability, whether that be something that is environmental or some other combination of factors and how you see yourself fitting into that?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Sustainability I think is a word that gets overused. It has a specific meaning - sustainable is to be able to make something go on. People use it so freely in contexts that don’t really mean anything.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people think of sustainability as something that embodies environmental concern, economic development, and also social justice. Do you think there’s a better word to describe all that?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: That’s the million dollar question. I think that Oberlin can become a more sustainable community with practices of the Oberlin Project. So a lot of what needs to happen is people in the community need to understand the potential of this idea of sustainability. You hear buzz about what really is the Oberlin Project, these mutterings of gentrification which I think are incredibly inaccurate. It’s an incredible gift that Oberlin is getting to have people work on this project that covers more than environmental concerns, and creates economic development and jobs, to help all community members. But the word ‘sustainability’ has always been a word that makes me cringe.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: For lack of a better word at the time being, what are some of the specific sustainable actions that you’re taking at The Feve and in your own life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: We’ve not ever been big at tooting our own horn so we don’t really publicize the things that we do. We probably should do more of that and we probably will do more of that just so people can be educated. When somebody finds a place that they like, and they realize that place does those things that are important like recycling and such, then they’re more likely to do it themselves at home. For that reason, I think it’s more important for us to be a bit more local. We recently, through the Oberlin Project, learned of the rebate program that is available to businesses that allows you to purchase certain energy efficient items like light bulbs and equipment. So we replaced all our incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Currently, and this is not the full of extent of what our savings will be, we’re saving over 6000 watts an hour by replacing our incandescent bulbs. So we’ve saved a lot of money by doing this LED project. And the Oberlin Project helped us - the reason we could afford it was because of the rebate program, and you know, doing it helps us be a more active participant in the practices that the Oberlin Project is trying to do. The other things we do - we filter our grease to run our van. It’s a diesel van that has been converted to run on vegetable oil so all of the fryer grease that we use gets filtered and put into the van. We have since started recycling I would say over 95% of our corrugated cardboard, which has reduced the size of our dumpster. We try to recycle all of our glass and all of our aluminum and all of our plastic and all of our steel, and you know, we would be thrilled to be able to compost. We would be, dare I say, excited to use compostable carryout containers if that was something that was happening in our community. I would support the idea of making compost mandatory in town. To have curbside composting would be, well, the right thing for Oberlin to do, for a forward-thinking community. As far as The Feve goes, we’ve really reduced our waste to almost as little as we can possibly have. We’re probably saving millions of pounds of trash, I’m just guessing. But it would really have to be close to that - trash that would otherwise be going to the landfill.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Do you have any specific messages about environmental consciousness or any other shape or form of sustainability that you would want to share with other community members?</strong></p> <p>A: We’re just trying to lead by example. We have the ability to be leaders and we are sort of leaders. And you know, with success in popularity, not everyone is going to like you, but we try to do what we can to be liked by everybody. We like to do what we do and we love Oberlin. Oberlin is such a great place. I really feel like I belong here, and we like doing things to make things good for people. And we just started doing this thing that doesn’t really apply but we just started doing these fundraisers for nonprofit organizations. Our first one we did for the stray cats, so we did an all you can eat taco bar that was $10, and all of that money went to cats. That evening they raised like $1500 bucks. So it’s something that we’re going to continue to do for different organizations, places that are in Oberlin. It’s just another thing we’re doing to help people in the community...so that’s that.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Tom Geller</h1> <p>2015-02-11T19:22:54+00:00</p> <p></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Tom Geller is a freelance writer who chose to use the services of Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly (POWER) to insulate his home.<br><br><strong>Q: How did you hear about POWER?</strong><br><br>I’ve been around Oberlin for about five years now. It’s a small town, so you find out about everything pretty soon. I’m actually friends with somebody whose mother is one of the people who runs POWER. Also, I’d gone through a different program called CHIP, which the city offers, and I found it really lacking. I figured I’d give POWER a try; I’d seen the signs around and so forth.<br><br><strong>Q: Why did you contact POWER?</strong><br><br>Well, [my house] was a fixer-upper when I bought it. I bought it really cheap: The entire kitchen had to be torn out, there was no insulation in the attic, there were a lot of problems all over. And so I did a few things when I first bought it, including putting insulation in. But I knew that the windows were leaking and the insulation wasn’t great, and so forth. So really [contacting POWER] was just out of need. It’s too bad [the work] couldn’t have been done before the winter started, but the insulation company was too busy.<br><br><strong>Q: When you bought your home was energy efficiency a consideration?</strong><br><br>To be honest, I didn’t really think so much about energy when I bought the place: I knew I was going to improve the place. And when one of the original contractors said, ‘Yeah well, we’re tearing out these walls we should put in insulation,’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I never even really thought of that’ -- that when you tear out walls, you put up new insulation... so it really was kind of the last thing on my mind. But then with the polar vortexes coming through, it became forefront of my mind.<br><br><strong>Q: Have you done any previous work to improve the energy efficiency of your home?</strong><br><br>No, this was the first home I owned. But I did do some work before POWER got here it: It just wasn't as good as what they did.<br><br><strong>Q: How would you describe your initial walkthrough with POWER?</strong><br><br>It was great, especially compared to the CHIP program, which was very badly run. [Greg Jones] came over, described the program, and gave me some papers. [Later] they sent somebody to actually do the assessment, and he was terrific. They put a big fan in the door and they close off all the windows and such and basically see how airtight the house is. It was a good six hours of stuff, and the guy was really good with me. Then I got Ritsko insulation, who were terrific, who actually did the work. So, pretty much from beginning to end it was good.<br><br><strong>Q: Have you saved money on energy?</strong><br><br>It’s kind of hard to tell, because they only did the work a couple of months ago. And it was sort of as the polar vortexes were ending, and my energy bills had been so variable up until then. I will say that the first thing I notice is that smells stay around in the house longer: It's not as drafty. That's for better or worse, of course.<br><br><strong>Q: How would you define sustainability and what actions have you made to contribute to sustainability?</strong><br><br>I think, generally speaking, the lifestyle I enjoy is not sustainable in any way. I’d say that's true for Americans generally -- and I don't pretend that it isn’t. And there are small things that we do: I’m glad that Oberlin has a recycling program, for example... But, yeah, my energy consumption personally is way out of line with what I give back to the world generally.<br><br><strong>Q: Do you have any final thoughts?</strong><br><br>I really do want POWER to do well. They did such a good job by me, and God knows there are plenty of places in Oberlin that could use it. The housing stock here is not great, and partly that’s because the value of the houses is so low. If you have a $40,000 house and it's going to cost $10,000 to fix it up, well, it's not as worth it, because you’re never going to get more than $40,000 for it, no matter how fixed up it is.<br><br>So having something like POWER makes it possible to make the houses more livable and certainly more energy efficient.</em></p> </article> <article> <h1>A New Years Resolution Idea - The Oberlin Pledge</h1> <p>2015-01-16T15:55:45+00:00</p> <p></p> <p>Each January is a new start for many people. If offers a proactive person the opportunity to start again. Regardless of whether a person believes in New Year’s Resolutions, making commitments at the start of a new year can teach a person how to make, set, and work toward achieving goals. </p> <p>2014, was a banner year for Oberlin. According to the Climate Action Plan annual update by the City of Oberlin, the community is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the end of 2015, compared to a 2012 baseline. As a result of these efforts, The White House and US Department of Energy named Oberlin one of 16 inaugural “Climate Action Champions” in the nation.</p> <p>David Orr, Visionary/Founder of The Oberlin Project, summarizes Oberlin’s 2014 achievements as follows:</p> <ul> <li>White House selection of Oberlin as one of sixteen U.S. cities designated “Climate Action Champions." Building on our previous selection as one of the Clinton Climate Initiative projects (now part of the C40 network) we pulled together the City, Oberlin Municipal Power and Light, and the College to craft a bold, but practical way to become climate neutral. We've eliminated 87% of the CO2 emissions from the municipal power system and halved the community's greenhouse gas emissions in three years.</li> <li>Construction is well under way on the Peter B. Lewis Gateway building. It will be a LEED Platinum, entirely solar powered hotel and conference center, including offices, a culinary school, and businesses. The building will feature a number of firsts, including a geothermal system that uses no climate damaging refrigerants. Completion is scheduled for early 2016.</li> <li>The Peter B. Lewis Gateway building will also feature a Maya Lin installation focused on climate and landscape, the final part of her “Ohio Trilogy."</li> <li>We will complete a passive solar, high-performance, and affordable home in the Southeast Quadrant of the City by mid-March of 2015.</li> <li>Planning for a 50-unit climate positive and affordable development on 14 acres is moving toward a 2015 groundbreaking.</li> <li>We’ve installed Environmental Dashboards in all of Oberlin’s public schools and other sites throughout the City and conducted teacher workshops on systems thinking skills using Dashboard technology.</li> <li>Oberlin is home to both Ohio's first Zero Waste Plan and its first hybrid hydraulic recycling ﬂeet.</li> <li>The next Climate Action Plan milestone is a 75% reduction of our 2012 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. That seems a long way off but the closer we get to our goal the more of a challenge it will be to reduce carbon emissions. Achieving this goal will require the assistance of all who live, work, play, and learn in Oberlin. </li> </ul> <p>You may be asking yourself, “what can I do?” or “how can I help Oberlin become the first positive climate community in the United States?” The answer is easy - take the Oberlin Climate Action Pledge!</p> <p>This pledge includes steps each Oberlin resident can take to help achieve the City’s Climate Action Plan. So how does it work? Visit <strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hM7X3B9NV_Al11nHZ2E2RrP5Fx6f-fqq0PR4nTU-WnA/viewform" target="_blank">this link</a></strong> to review the list of commitments. Then look at the links associated with each of the items and pick one or more that you will commit to accomplishing in 2015. Each person, if chosen to be made public, will be listed on our website as an Oberlin Climate Action Champion. Your public commitment will inspire and motivate others in the community. Also, when you make goals public you are more likely to achieve your commitments. What a great feeling it is to know that your 2015 pledge supports our community’s goals as well as encourages others to follow your lead. </p> <p>To access the pledge and begin making your commitment to a positive climate Oberlin community please <strong><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hM7X3B9NV_Al11nHZ2E2RrP5Fx6f-fqq0PR4nTU-WnA/viewform" target="_blank">click here</a></strong>!</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Laura Brua</h1> <p>2014-12-09T19:26:39+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr">Lauri Brua is a fifth grade teacher at Prospect Elementary School. She uses the Environmental <br>Dashboard as a teaching tool in her classroom, and makes sure that her students go home with an awareness of energy use and environmental issues, along with a sense of their own power to address these challenges.</p> <p><strong>Q: What are some words or images that come to mind when you think of Oberlin?<br></strong>A: I would say progressive, changing. When I think of Oberlin as a community, I think: this is much more of a home community than where I actually live, because of the interactions that we teachers have with the community and the college.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to be teaching in Oberlin?<br></strong>A: I was just thinking about that…I got my job here in the early 90s. [My husband and I] were living in Elyria; so I targeted Lorain County schools and Oberlin called me. Then, I started doing research and looking into the historical value that was here, and it just really interested me. I was lucky enough to get pulled out of the hat for interviews, and got the job, so I felt pretty blessed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: People use the word “sustainability” to mean a lot of different things. Can you give me your definition of “sustainability”?</strong><br>A: Well, it’s changed just over the past few weeks because of these [Creative Change] lessons that we’ve had: talking about what you need to be happy and healthy, supporting your own wellbeing, and tying that in with nature and how that works all together as a community. I used to think of it more in terms of ecology and what it takes to be “green.” Now, it’s broadened out a lot more to include the well-being of a person.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are you doing as a teacher and in your personal life to move towards sustainability?<br></strong>A: I stress recycling and reusing. We try to create as little trash as possible each day in the classroom, and we turn the lights off when we leave. We have been talking about the Bioregional Dashboard a lot at the end of the day when we look at the graphs of electricity and water use for that day. We always notice that the water usage goes up at the beginning of the day, at lunch, and at the end of the day. And the kids say, “Well they’re getting ready to go home, they’re going to the bathroom…” those types of things. But we noticed from 1:45-2:00 one day, our electricity usage went DOWN, significantly. And the kids brought this up- they said “Remember, we had a fire drill today?” Everybody had gone outside and turned off their lights and it made a difference in the graph. And the kids were like “Wow, that’s really cool. Now if we could turn the lights off when we….” And I do that in the morning now - I’ll keep the lights off and I bring in a lamp from home and turn just that on- and I think that makes a little bit of a difference. And I’ll do that at home, of course, too.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would want to tell people in Oberlin about sustainability or caring for the environment?</strong><br>A: I think it could get people more interested in what’s going on in the community if they had more information. The kids go home and talk about what we’re learning about with electricity. They go home and talk about how to conserve and make less trash and say “oh, we made a compost pile, and we’re planting seeds inside so that we can put them in the ground in the spring.” So they do make those connections. I think the more and more that we get kids interested, then they’ll go home and talk about it with their parents and get their parents interested.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Thomas Bethel</h1> <p>2014-11-19T14:53:20+00:00</p> <p><a href="community/new-automated-refuse-recycling-curbside-program"></a></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Thomas Bethel is the Mastering Engineer/Managing Director of Acoustik Music, Ltd.. Prior to starting his own business, he served as Oberlin College’s Director of Audio Services and Concert Sound for 26 years. During his time working for Oberlin College, he recorded over three thousand concerts and did live concert sound for hundreds of live events.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? </strong></p> <p>A: Green. The town is green; there are lots of flowers, grass and trees, all relative to the seasons. Green also describes how everyone here seems to be conscious of the environment and their own resource usage.</p> <p><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community? </strong></p> <p>A: We provide a number of services. We’re essentially an audio mastering facility. We also do on-location audio recordings and restoration/transfer of material from different media sources like records and tapes, which we then transfer to CDs or DVDs, whatever the case may be. We also have CD/DVD printing and duplication services.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think there are ways to combine thinking about sound and thinking about the environment?</strong></p> <p>A: Definitely; I think the intersection of these topics is noise pollution. Noise pollution isn’t rampant in Oberlin, I’ve had friends stay here from New York and say they have trouble sleeping because it’s so quiet. I think the town of Oberlin is very good at not letting sound pollute its environment.</p> <p>I think the one major thing about Oberlin that’s pretty amazing is that there are people from all kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds who are all living in the same town and all getting along well. I think something people don’t realize is that we’ve got professors and college administrators, who are making six figures in the area, but also 35% of the town is below the poverty level. Considering you’ve got that huge range, it’s incredible that Oberlin inhabitants get along as well as they do.</p> <p><strong>Q: So, the word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and business owner? </strong></p> <p>A: We try to be very eco-friendly; we have a skylight—we use CFL or LED bulbs in all our lighting fixtures except for a couple or quartz halogens in our studio. The bulbs are low in power consumption and eco friendly, and we dispose of them properly. We work very closely with OMLPS (the Oberlin Municipal Light and Power System), and we’ve done most of the things that they’ve suggested to make us more energy efficient. We’ve gotten the whole house re-insulated; we’ve put in more energy efficient appliances and in so doing we’ve significantly cut our energy usage.</p> <p>All the packing materials we use for eBay sales are made from recycled materials—things like boxes and packing materials. We try to be very eco-friendly and we do a lot of recycling with our technology as well.</p> <p><strong>Q: We talked earlier about how Oberlin has changed since your arrival. If you could look twenty years into the future, what would you want to see? What would be similar or different?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I would like to see a little bit more cooperation between the town and the gown; I think that the town and the college need to work closer together. I think this green initiative is a good idea, especially if they’re going to use local farmers to help supply the town’s food.</p> <p>One thing that really changed in Oberlin when I first got here was that hardly any students had cars. I don’t know what it’s up to now but at one point during Nancy Dye’s reign, I think the percentage of young adults who had cars on campus was quite high. So, anybody had access to a car, because if they didn’t have one, they had a friend or a boyfriend or a girlfriend who did. Everybody here in town used to bike everywhere, but now with a car, they leave town and go to the malls. The one thing that Oberlin definitely needs—and I was sorry to see it fade away—is the Lorain County Transit Authority. While it was working, it was a great opportunity for students and elderly people to get around. They could get to doctor’s appointments or shopping places. It was a great thing. Then, I guess, it got too costly and was under funded from the start.</p> <p><strong>Q: What advice/tips would you offer to other business owners who are interested in adopting sustainable initiatives? </strong></p> <p>A: Talk to somebody who they can get advice from. We talked to OMLPS, and they were very helpful; they came out and did an energy survey of the house and gave us suggestions about how to reduce our energy usage. Later they came out and re-surveyed the house after we had completed the improvements they had suggested. There are now people everywhere who have a lot of experience with sustainability. I think that’s another thing that the college could provide to town businesses and residents: showing them where they can save money through efficient use of energy. That would be great. We only have ourselves to blame if we don’t do something to save our dwindling resources.</p> <p>I just showed Larry Cariglio from Lorenzo’s some of our LED bulbs, and explained how they could save him hundreds of dollars a year. He was really excited about it. I think it’s important to engage the community, maybe give them some ideas about being more sustainable. I know we’ve had a couple of people call us up after they heard about what we’ve done with our resource usage and asked to come see it and we’ve had companies call us and say “I understand [OMLPS] helped you, what did they do?” And we tell them. So that’s a good thing.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Tanya Rosen-Jones</h1> <p>2014-11-10T20:44:46+00:00</p> <p></p> <p><i>Tanya Rosen-Jones is the owner of Rosen-Jones Photography. She is an Oberlin alumnus who studied History. She now lives in Oberlin with her husband, who also graduated from Oberlin, and her two sons. She hails from Berkeley, California. </i></p> <p><i> </i><strong>Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? Why would you choose these words/images? </strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I would say trees and green. There is a universal commitment to try to be greener here, and to try to live a more sustainable life. It’s one of the reasons why we moved here, actually.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to open your business in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I went to Oberlin College in the ‘90s, back when fashion was horrible and we had no hair products. I met my husband here—we’re one of those Obie couples—and we left for eleven years. Then we came back for our tenth reunion and were astonished at how beautiful it was here and realized that Oberlin was the community we were searching for; it’s a place where we could afford a house, we could walk or ride our bikes to work if we wanted, and our children could ride their bikes in the streets. Also, Oberlin had tons of artistic and cultural attractions that were available to us. So, we decided to try to get employed here, and my husband actually got a job at the college. He’d been working at MIT before.</p> <p><strong>Q: When you lived near MIT, were you more in a suburban or an urban kind of community?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>We had been in a more urban community, but right before my husband got the job at MIT, we had just moved to the suburbs. It was pretty bad timing! We had lived in an urban environment, but we wanted more green space and we wanted more of a yard. But when we moved to the suburbs and my husband started his job at MIT, we realized that we weren’t really suburban people. So we were like, “if we’re not city people and we’re not suburban people, what are we?” And then I remembered: I grew up in Berkeley, California. That was when I realized that we were college town people. It’s that happy medium between urban and suburban—it has the comfort level where you know lots of people, but there are still intellectual conversations happening. Then we moved back to Oberlin. I had had a photo business for years in Boston and decided that I wanted to open a storefront here.</p> <p><strong>Q: What</strong><strong>’s it been like running your business in Oberlin? Have you enjoyed your interactions with the Oberlin community? Have you met interesting people?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>Absolutely! We’re very fortunate.My husband and I are both alums, so we’re connected to the college in that way. My husband also works for the college, so we’re connected to the college in that way as well. We have young children, so we got to know a lot of people through the daycare and the elementary schools in town. And then, opening a business here, I got to meet a lot of the local business owners, so it felt like I was connected to Oberlin in five different ways, so I definitely felt blessed in that way.</p> <p><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community? </strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I try to be a small-town photographer, so I offer all different kinds of photography from headshots to weddings, babies, maternity, engagement sessions, seniors in high school, and I just kind of try to be here as a resource for the community. I even do some random requests for some of the more elderly residents of Oberlin; sometimes they’ll bring me old photos that I’ll scan, fix up, and then give them the new prints. So, again, I like being here as a resource…and if I can stay for the long haul, it’s also nice to see, as time passes, how the children grow, or, as the students become famous, I can pull out pictures I have of them when they were just starting out. It’s pretty fun! I like to help people document important times in their lives, and it’s fun to be associated with our small community in that way.</p> <p><strong>Q: What changes have you seen at Oberlin College since your time at the school? If you could look twenty years into the future, what would you want to see in those students that you don</strong><strong>’t see as much currently?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>Well, even though Oberlin does change all the time, there are these weird constants as well. There are these archetypes of people who are attracted to Oberlin, which is comforting in some ways. We all knew those people when we were back in school here too, and hopefully they’ll just keep coming for decades to come.</p> <p>The students are, from what I can tell, more confident in a way. I actually think it’s because of the Internet because in our day, we came here and there were all these strong personality types in high school, like the ones you see in those ‘80s movies, the jocks, and the nerds and the weirdos—that actually existed. Or at least, you felt like you had to fit into those categories. And people who were attracted to Oberlin back then were generally trying to fight against those things. So we came to Oberlin and asserted that “we were different, we were weird!” We got here and we were all very vocal about it, but then we realized that we all were slightly weird. We realized that we didn’t have to be so loud about it and that we should just be ourselves.</p> <p>But that was a process for us, and now people come here with more of a sense of themselves because they’ve almost all gotten a chance to have a community before. They could find people who looked like them, felt like them, acted like them. They don’t have to try to prove themselves as much. That’s the only difference I’ve really noticed, and I’m not sure if that’s even a positive or a negative, it just kind of is.</p> <p>In Twenty years, I would hope that students would continue to be more confident in themselves, and more compassionate of others. I would hope that they would see the world as gray, instead of black and white. And to see commonalties in people that appear quite different from themselves.</p> <p><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and business owner? </strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>Sustainability, for me, is a way to prolong and to provide. The reason that I think sustainability is a possibility for Oberlin is that we have farmlands and a drive to create an area here from which we can support ourselves. We’re becoming more and more self-sufficient and relying less on getting our products from outside. I guess, to me, sustainability is just about providing for our future.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think sustainability is a relevant factor in making business decisions? Why?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I try to source as many products as locally as possible. And I shop downtown whenever possible. Sustainability of a vibrant downtown is also very important to me.</p> <p><strong>Q: What advice/tips would you offer to other business owners who are interested in adopting sustainable initiatives? </strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I would say to really do your research and figure out if there’s a way to minimize cost, expenditures, and damage in your business. And if there is, price it accordingly. You just have to do your research, and whenever possible, think with your heart.</p> <p><strong>Q: As a photographer, what inspires you to create?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>I’m the rare person, I guess, in that I’m completely inspired by people. I tried many different kinds of photography and worked for many different photographers but I kept feeling like, “I hate that! I don’t want to do that!” Eventually, I realized that I could just take inspiration from my clients ‘and their events. I mean, like, if there’s a wedding, yeah, there’s a lot of headache and pressure involved, but it’s also this incredible experience that brings people and families together and so many beautiful and genuine emotions are expressed. I take my inspiration from the history that I’m helping to create, and from light, of course, but really, it’s the people who drive me to continue creating. People always ask me, “What do you do for yourself?” And I reply, “I work!” I love working, I love what I do, and I love the people I get to meet and work with.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything else you</strong><strong>’d like to add?</strong></p> <p><strong>A: </strong>What I would love to see happen—which happens in my home area—is compost pickup, which is really cool. At my sister’s house, they have a huge garbage bin that’s entirely compost and then a teeny little garbage can for garbage. It’s so nice because not everyone can have a compost bin in the backyard. They pick it up the compost every week, and it’s an incredible system. It might be hard to implement in Oberlin because the size of the town is a bit limiting, and people may not be willing to compost because of the smell, but I think it would be great for the town. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Mark Fahringer</h1> <p>2014-10-31T19:45:54+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Mark Fahringer is a Coordinator at The Salvation Army Oberlin Service Unit. He also has volunteered as a Board Member and Board Chair for the Catholic Action Commission of Lorain County. In March 2009, he was awarded the Bishop A.J. Quinn Peace and Justice Award for efforts in immigration reform.</em></p> <p><strong>Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin? </strong></p> <p>A: Diverse but inclusive, really open and friendly.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to work and live in Oberlin? </strong></p> <p>A: Well, actually, I was living in Wooster and met my wife, who’s not a lifelong Oberlin resident but has lived here for almost her whole life. It was one of those great things; I was renting an apartment and she owned a house. I was working for the Salvation Army in Wooster but it was a 40-hour weekend, so it was just like one trip down and one trip back and I was covered. So, since she owned, I was like, “okay, I’ll just move down here.” [Laughs] I did that for a while and then at the end of 2010, I was asked if I would consider volunteering to help out the Salvation Army because they wanted to split off from Wellington and re-open a unit here, and I said “sure” because I had time during the week. I really saw the potential to do more than we were doing, and then, I helped increase our donations and programs and so they asked me if I would work part-time here, so we did that. Then we got a grant for a new program, which is actually an ex-offender reentry program for Lorain County that we were basing out of our office. When that grant came through, they asked me to come full-time here, which was last fall, so I left Wooster completely and came to work here full-time.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community? </strong></p> <p>A: I’m part of the Service Extension Department of the Salvation Army. Everyone thinks Salvation Army and associates it with churches, but the Service Extension Department is the social service branch. I mean, obviously we’re still faith-based but it doesn’t have a church attached to it or anything. We do strictly social service work, much along the lines of OCS. We work very well as a compliment to them in some ways; we’re the smaller agency so there are times where they help someone with part of a bill for assistance and we pick up the rest or whatnot. That’s kind of how we started when we came back to town.</p> <p>Now, like I said, we have this grant, and we’ve started a countywide program for ex-offender reentry. We put together a resource guide—we jokingly call it a “Paper 211”—for folks getting ready to come out of prison or folks who have just gotten out of prison and don’t have access to computers or whatnot. They can look up various resources for social services, food pantries, information on how to get a driver’s license, et cetera. So we do that, and we’re expanding it into running a “life skills” program inside prisons and within the community to do some re-training for things like finances, budgeting, families, life, all kinds of things, as well as employment. And the Department of Corrections has asked us to expand that directory into other counties in the state, so we’re working on putting that together and I’ve been having conversations with the Bonner Center about finding students who would be interested in doing research on those other resources in different counties. So basically, in regards to the second half of what you were asking, we work closely with the OCS and other programs like the Backpack Program for the Oberlin City Schools and help the community.</p> <p><strong>Q: What is your favorite part of your job?</strong></p> <p>A: One favorite thing is that it’s a whole lot of different things; I’m not pigeonholed into doing one thing, I’m out in the community and out in other communities. I have the chance to speak to various organizations and whatnot, which is always good. I really enjoy the fact that, at least in some small way, I get to make a difference. That’s probably the biggest thing—I don’t feel that I’m just pushing paper, I’m actually out doing something for people.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and business owner? </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Different things. I mean, we use it all the time in terms of what we call household sustainability, which I guess is primarily economic. Not just helping someone pay a bill but hopefully doing enough case management to help them get to a point where they don’t have to come back. Sometimes you get outside of the financial or economic realm with those people, like I might see a city utility bill that’s crazy high and I’ll ask what the people are doing to run up their electricity bills, like using their stove for heat and I try to give them some alternatives or find resources that might help them get a higher efficiency furnace or a better furnace, so there’s those kinds of things. You’re always looking for those resources. Again, for me, they may be fine on the income side but you have an expense problem, which can lead to conversations about budgeting. Personally, anything we plant, I keep a water barrel outside back so I tend to water plants with that as much as I can. So, yeah, doing things like that and making sure that we don’t leave our lights on in the house. It means a lot of different things, but in my job, it’s about economics.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think sustainability is a relevant factor in making business decisions? Why?</strong></p> <p>A: Sure, and for a number of reasons. I mean, one example is that, not just with the Salvation Army but I’m very involved with the Catholic Action Commission here in Lorain County, which is a social action and advocacy organization and we always think about sustainability when we do things. We’ve had, for years, an Environmental Committee that helps do things like recycle printer cartridges. So, obviously the environmental aspect has to be kept in mind, and from a stricter business sense, beyond that, it’s about costs and savings. It’s about using higher efficiency lights that work or recognizing and cycling things off so that everything doesn’t run all day, and consolidating trips in the car when we make runs. We have to realize that you can promote sustainability and have it be a huge cost-saving initiative in a business atmosphere.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: If you could look 20 years into the future, what would you like to see remain the same about Oberlin? What would you like to be different?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: There’d still be rocks [laughs]. You know, I think it would be different by being the same from the standpoint that the movement it has, and has always had towards environmental and social action issues would continue to evolve. I think it would still be there but at the level it needs to be for its time. I also think it would still have its sense of community. My hope is that we stay as much of a community as we currently are, because for a community that has so much technology, there’s still a lot of interpersonal contact and I always fear that it’ll go away at some point, but I really hope it doesn’t.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Jan Miyake</h1> <p>2014-10-01T19:17:16+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Jan Miyake is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Oberlin Conservatory, and a client of Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly (POWER).</em></p> <p><strong>How did you hear about POWER?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think in the news tribune and then my friend Cindy also told me.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Why did you contact POWER/ what was your motivation?</strong></p> <p>Curiosity.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>When you bought your home was energy efficiency a consideration?</strong> (Like the age of your furnace, windows, etc.)</p> <p dir="ltr">No. (Moved in 2004).</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Have you done any previous work to improve the energy efficiency of your home?</strong></p> <p>Yes, we blew in insulation in the attic and we bought new windows.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How would you describe Greg?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Greg is great! He’s easy to talk to, really kind and fun to be around.</p> <p><strong>Which improvements did you choose to make?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Oh yeah. We called Columbia Gas, we got an energy audit...that resulted in insulating our walls and we also bought a new air conditioning unit. We also put a monitor on our water heater to keep it from getting super hot unless the weather was super cold. I think that’s it. We got a new ceiling on our doors. (How was that process?) It was good. Some of the contractors we wanted to use were super busy and so we had to go with someone else but other than that, it was a good process. It took us a long time to choose people but that’s just because we were super careful.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Have you saved money on energy?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I’m sure we have but it’s really hard to tell because this winter’s much colder than last winter was so we’ve already used a lot more gas than we used last year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How have these improvements affected your life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The house is much more cozy upstairs. Especially our guest room which has two exterior walls and sits above the garage. Our guests have appreciated having insulation in the walls.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How would you define sustainability and what actions have you made to contribute to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Sustainability for me would be using the world’s resources in a way where they’ll still be there for my grandkids. We’ve switched to all CFL light bulbs. We’ve been teaching our kids about water usage and their showers and teeth brushing. We did the work with the air conditioning unit and the insulation in our house. We’ve tried to drive one car instead of two as much as possible. So usually we’ll take two cars maybe once a week maybe more than once a week. We ride bikes a lot, we love to walk. I think that’s it? </p> <div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Jerry Anderson</h1> <p>2014-09-02T15:22:57+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Jerry Anderson is the owner of Watson’s Hardware, located at 26 South Main Street in Oberlin. He believes in making full use of available materials.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What words/images would you use to describe Oberlin?<br></strong>A: Coming from your point of view, zero carbon.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Why would you choose these words/images?<br></strong>A: I don’t know of any town that is trying harder [to reach zero carbon emissions].</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to open your business in Oberlin?<br></strong>A: The economic opportunities.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community?<br></strong>A: We are a retail hardware store, and that serves as the function as well.</p> <p><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and business owner?<br></strong>A: Sustainability means that we put fewer materials out than we take in.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think sustainability is a relevant factor in making business decisions? Why? How do your beliefs about sustainability influence your business model/practices?<br></strong>A: : It should be a relevant factor. It influences my decisions very much so. I’m really trying is about all I can say about it. I think one of the best things we do around here is we try to fix used things and we try to sell used things. When people come in and need something fixed, if we can patch it up so they don’t spend any money on it, then I think that’s about the best thing we can do around here.</p> <p><strong>Q: What sustainable practices/initiatives have you incorporated into your business practices? What inspired you to take these actions?<br></strong>A: Well I just told you probably our biggest one, but a guy came and showed me this part that cost $4 and I was able to direct him to a part that cost only about 50 cents to make. So it saved him a bit of money. That is the idea of sustainability. If everyone thinks about what they are throwing away, if they consciously make every move count, then they will be sustainable. You know what I’m really bad at is I still throw trash or paper away that I shouldn’t because I don’t trust in my head that it really matters. It’s not environmentally sustainable, but it’s hard for me to break that habit. I should consciously put every piece of paper away and take every piece of metal and do the extra effort and recycle it properly.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What advice/tips would you offer to other business owners who are interested in adopting sustainable initiatives?<br></strong>A: I would say just think about what you’re doing and try your very best to really recycle as much as you can. Then, what you do recycle, think about what how much you are wasting or recycling and come to you own conclusions about what to do.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Manuel Espinoza</h1> <p>2014-07-29T16:18:28+00:00</p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 3px; float: left; display: inline-table;"><strong><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Manuel Espinoza</span></strong></span>When Mr. Manuel Espinoza first came to Oberlin in 1964 for a job interview at the local barbershop, he knew right away that he wanted to stay. A self-identified “people person,” he enjoys interacting with his clients and making them look good, one haircut at a time. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> </div> <div><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: Oberlin…Lively, animated. Entertaining. </div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: Why would you choose those words?</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>Because I go through other towns and you hardly see any people on the streets. But you come to Oberlin and there’s students walking around, any day of the week…Most outside towns, Saturdays are busy days. Oberlin, every day you’ve got movement in town. From here, you can see all the people going to the Feve, walking by and going to the banks…and just the different people—the different countries walking around. It’s pretty cool.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: How is that you came to open your business in Oberlin? </strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: It was back in 1964. I was an apprentice barber...Grew up in western Ohio and went to barber school in Toledo. I had my apprentice’s license but I couldn’t find any job that I really wanted to do over there. And then I was working as an apprentice hod-carrier—you mix mud for a plasterer—I set up the scaffolding and put the ladder up, and mixed the mud and the plaster, would do the walls…One day we were working in Toledo at a hotel and he [my boss] went out to lunch and came back with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and there were three job openings in the wanted section. One was in Bedford, one was in North Ridgeville, and one was in Oberlin. Went to Bedford and interviewed there…They said I could come work the next day. Then I drove to North Ridgeville…and I went to Ron’s Barbershop and he said I could start the next day. And then I came to Oberlin and it was about noon and the kids were leaving their art lessons at the museum and we were at the crosswalk…and I said yep, I think I’ll stay here….I came in here…and I applied and he said yeah, you can start working tomorrow. So at noon, when he closed up the shop, we went over to a place called Martin’s Inn—a monthly rental place—and I got a room there for a month. And the next day I came to town. </div> <div> </div> <div>I started working the next day, which was the first part of October. I had a year and a half apprenticeship and then in…March I came to work and Perry, my boss, says, “If you want to buy the barbershop, you should buy it today,” he says, “ ’Cause I’m retiring. If you don’t, you’ll be working for somebody else tomorrow.” So I bought it. And he packed up his tools and left, just like that. So that was pretty cool…That was about 1967. </div> <div> </div> <div>When I was over there [in a different location], I got married and sent my wife to barber school and she was cutting hair. And we cut hair together—she was very good, she was excellent. We ended up getting a divorce…We remained good friends…She was looking for a place to open her own business and I said, well, come back to Oberlin. I said, you’re a hair stylist, a barber stylist; I’m just a barber. We’ll get along fine, you’ll have your customers and I’ll have mine. So she had a place right up the street, right next to Gibson’s—it was called A Cut Above—and she had a really good business going…I had Renee working with me, then after that, I just worked by myself. It worked out pretty good and I’ve been by myself since then. I call it quality control. </div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: Can you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the Oberlin community? </strong></div> <div><strong> </strong></div> <div>A: My business is making people look good.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as an Oberlin resident and a business owner?</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: I don’t know how much a barbershop would apply to that, other than good grooming…Well… the town itself…you don’t have to go out of town to get whatever you need. Most of your needs are here. With that, I’d say Oberlin does pretty well. Self-sufficient, self-sustaining.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: I think longevity is part of it too, what you were saying about how you’ve been here since the 60s. I would say your business has definitely been sustainable. </strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: I think I’ve changed when there needed to be change. When the long hair came in—in the mid-70s, the late 70s—Renee and I went to hair design school and learned to cut long hair and women’s hair and all that…You’ve got to go with the flow, not to extremes, just enough to rock the boat. So we changed as the times changed. I’m probably the first barbershop to have appointments. In town, no barbershops had appointments…I was the first guy who had a woman with me working as a barber. She got first chair…I was second chair—I deferred to my wife’s talents!</div> <div><strong> </strong></div> <div><strong>Q: What sustainable practices have you incorporated into your business practices? </strong></div> <div><strong> </strong></div> <div>A: I think one of them is the appointments because a lot of my clients, customers, they have time constraints. I have professors and college students and they have x amount of minutes to go between classes or before classes start and they’ll call up and set up an appointment. They’ll be in and out and guaranteed they won’t have to wait. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve done. That, and consistency in the quality of the haircuts…I do all right, cutting hair. After 50 years…that says it all.</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: Is it difficult to handle all the scheduling? What kind of system do you have worked out? </strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: The system is—I go at 20-minute intervals. A good hair cut, the actual cutting action of the hair, takes about twelve minutes. To cut it right, make it look good. But you also have the set-up time, the client coming in. So I have a five-minute window. If you’re five minutes late, I’ll have to hurry your haircut and it’s not going to come out the way I want it to. And then the guy that has an appointment has to wait and he shouldn’t have to wait. So my thing is, if you’re five minutes late, I have to reschedule you, unless there’s nobody coming in afterwards. So my customers know that I’m not going to wait. The walk-ins are welcome, but they’ll have to wait if I have an appointment…I think that’s what’s kept me consistent. </div> <div> </div> <div>The people who come here come here of their own volition, so it’s a great working environment. No one comes in here because they have to. You come here because you want to…50 years and I love my job. And if you love your job, you never spend a day at work. </div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Q: What sorts of economic development would you like to see in Oberlin? </strong></div> <div> </div> <div>A: I don’t know…I think specialty shops would probably be the best because anything else, you have…Walmart and all that competing with you and they’re going to undercut you and cut prices just to get people. And people are more bargain hunters than quality buyers and they’re going to go over there. An example in hair cutting: you’ve got Best Cuts, Fantastic Sam’s—these are like the fast food of haircuts. They serve a good purpose because there’s families with four or five kids and that’s a big chunk to pay out to give them haircuts, so you’re going to get them at half price…and they’re kids—kids are cute whether you cut their hair good or bad…I think unique stores would probably last longer [downtown] than anything that would have to compete with the big “box stores” as they call them…I never worried [those stores]. In my business, if I lose a customer, it’s not because of somebody else—it’s because of me. </div> <div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Donna Shurr</h1> <p>2014-07-16T20:58:48+00:00</p> <p><i>Donna Shurr has been teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at Oberlin High School since she moved to the town in 1998. She is involved in many volunteering pursuits such as managing the Oberlin Backpack Program, which gives eligible students from Prospect and Eastwood Elementary Schools meal items and snacks to bring home for the weekend. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: Have you had any interaction with the Environmental Digital signs in the Public Library, The AJLC, or Prospect Elementary School, and if so, what do you think about it?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, I guess I’ve had a lot of interaction because when I came here, when I moved to Ohio in 1998 and began teaching here, I found out from a colleague that I could take classes at Oberlin College for free. Every teacher here is allowed to take one free class per semester. At first, I was taking some random classes because of their availability in the afternoon. Then, all of a sudden, I ran into problems and I realized, “Oh, Environmental Studies, I’m really interested in that and they have classes in the evenings.” So I started signing up for those—I think I’ve taken every class that David Orr teaches—and one by one, I’ve taken a number of them. In those courses, I interacted with the Dashboard. Then I got very excited about the Environmental Studies program and sustainability and since I teach Family and Consumer Science, I started having Oberlin College students coming over to my classes and just sharing things about energy. Almost every year, I’ve had Oberlin students working with my students. I would say that 5 out of my 16 years, I’ve taken students over to take tours of the AJLC. Also, in the summer for many years, I taught architecture for the Oberlin Early Childhood Center for an organization that’s now Oberlin’s Heritage Center, Every summer, I had one class and I would bring that small group of students from that one class to the Center and we would go on a tour of the Living Machine and of the Dashboard.</p> <p><strong>Q: As both a resident of Oberlin and as a teacher at OHS, do you perceive those aspects of your relationship with the town as being separate or intertwined?</strong></p> <p>A: I think everything is connected. I’m a teacher, but I’m also a resident, a wife, a mother, and a sister. All of that makes me - “me”. It’s all interconnected. When I came here in 1998, my principal asked me what kind of club I wanted to be involved with, because, you know, we teachers all try to be involved at least one club here. No one wanted to do the community service club and that’s right up my alley, since I’ve always done community service just as a natural part of my life. So I guess that’s really made me even more connected with the community since my students are constantly doing community service and we interact with many organizations like the Public Library and we do things at Oberlin Community Services. Also, we work with the Community Meals Program where the kids serve meals, and we bake and do lots of things, so I’ve had lots of interactions with the community. I write for the newspaper at least on a monthly basis, if not two or three times a month. I’m a Rotarian, and as a Rotarian, we raise money to support things, like to help people pay their bills in the winter if they don’t have enough money, we supply coats and mittens to the school for kids who forget their coats and their mittens and hats. The Rotarians do a lot for the community as well.</p> <p><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin? Why did you choose those word(s)/image(s)?</strong></p> <p>A: I would say Oberlin is a welcoming community. I know at the high school, we welcome kids from all over the place. We only have three foreign exchange students this year, but sometimes we’ll have up to seven or eight. They really add a great deal of color to our community here. I’ve felt very welcome here. I’ve been asked to be on a number of boards in the community. Right now, I sit on the board of the Oberlin Heritage Center. I’m part of FAVA—I’ve been asked to be on their board as well, but I can’t do that currently with the Oberlin Heritage Center. I’ve been a Rotarian for about ten years. So, it’s been very welcoming—I’ve been here for about sixteen years, and even coming from Florida, I feel like Oberlin is my home. I think another thing that’s great is that the residents reach out as well. I know this week, on December 6<sup>th</sup>, Ben Franklin is having a celebration in conjunction with one of our French and Spanish teachers—they reached out to her, and they’re going to celebrate together and the College French students and our French students are putting on music and games and there will be a student interpreting for Father Christmas, who does not speak French but who will also be there. I think that’s going to be a really nice event—and that’s something new! Barry Richards, who’s the president of the school board, he and some other folks brought a Chalk Walk here and that’s been happening every summer now for ten years—people from all over Lorain County come for a day in the summer and they create chalk art all over the city. We have lots of great things to bring people together. I would say the other thing about Oberlin is that’s it’s creative—we have loads of creative people, and lots of creative ideas, not just in visual arts but in music and dramatic arts as well. We are just a really creative and innovative community. I think the whole community is really also beginning to embrace environmentalism and it is a community process of bringing awareness about taking care of the community here that will help us affect surrounding communities and the world.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community.” What does sustainability mean to you/in your own life?</strong></p> <p>A: I think personally, sustainability means to me that I have the skills and the means to be able to take care myself and my family and help my students understand that they can do this as well. For instance, I think eventually, perhaps, there may be a day when the power grid goes down and I want to be able to take care of my family if it does. I have to use computers frequently because I’m a teacher and I’ve learned a great deal about using them since I’ve come to Oberlin. I’m learning technology, but I do refuse to have a cell phone—I don’t want one. Technology is great and I love it, but I would like to be able to live without the grid. NOTE: Since this interview we have gotten a cell phone. We were in a car accident this summer and realized that technology is important in this instance. We have had it for two months and it has been useful. I wish we could have held out longer – getting impossible.</p> <p> My husband and I do a lot of things—we have our own garden. When we freeze the fruits and vegetables from our garden, we remain on the grid, but I do a lot of canning and freeze-drying in order to be more sustainable. There’s another thing that I talk about when I talk about sustainability with my students, I talk a lot about water usage. We’re doing water projects now where we talk about water in other countries and how water is not available for so may people, and how food is not available for so many people—a billion people in this world do not have enough to eat each day to sustain their heath and well-being. There is enough food for everyone in the world but it’s not distributed well, so we talk about how we can make it possible for there to be food and water availability for everyone in the world. It’s so important for kids to understand that what they do has a ripple effect and affects the whole world.</p> <p><strong>Q: Have you noticed any changes in the reactions of your students in regards to sustainability from when you first begin working with them to when you teach them about sustainability during the year?</strong></p> <p>A: As a matter of fact, I do! We just went to the movies—the Apollo Outreach had a program called Food For Thought and they showed “Polyculture” and another movie (“Hungry for Health”). Originally, the kids were like, “oh, we get a field trip! That’s awesome!” but when we got to the theater, they were very much impressed by the videos, they liked them a lot, and we talked about them later. It was really cool because by the time that we finished up, the kids were making connections and talking about the ways that processed foods can be unhealthy. The kids are really embracing it this year, and they like doing these things—some of the kids have even changed their eating habits, which is great because I’m trying to promote healthy eating and living habits.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living/respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: I’m very proud of the community and the fact that we have a lot of community gardens—I love it. I think I’d just like to see even more people involved in those gardens and bringing that knowledge down to their little children. I think that community gardens really bring people together but also promote sustainable living—yeah, I just love the community garden system and am very excited about them! I am also excited about the Oberlin Dashboard being in every school. I think this will be a learning tool that all teachers can use in the classroom in every discipline. With the Dashboard also being in other places in the community, students may even become more involved by explaining it to others, maybe even by being “Dashboard Docents.”</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Glenn Gall</h1> <p>2014-06-26T19:44:52+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Glenn Gall is an activist, a writer, and a farmer living in Oberlin. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Huntington University, and has training in permaculture and grazing techniques. He proposes the use of natural systems as a multidimensional approach to the problem of climate change. More of his ideas can be found on the website: <a href="http://reverseglobalwarming.org/">reverseglobalwarming.org</a>.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What comes to mind when you think about Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: It is a very healthy community—in terms of, there’s sharing and caring going on. There’s always new relationships to be made…learning to understand where people are coming from, and what they’re working on. And enjoying the culture, and appreciating the activism. And a chance to explore my own ideas, and foster those, and try to prepare others for a future that can use some of these ideas.</p> <p><strong>Q: How did you become interested in the role of natural systems for addressing issues of climate, food, and the environment? What started you on this path?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Years ago, we lived in another house on the far east side of town…I learned about compost, and organic matter, and how that can help regenerate topsoil. I wasn’t satisfied with just organic gardening. I had to do biointensive and natural farming methods, as I learned about those.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was six or seven years ago now that I really became interested and involved in the problem of our climate, and that took me to a deeper environmental level. I was concerned about reducing emissions, of course. I learned then about soil, and how rapidly that can take on CO2, and be transformed into humus – topsoil. So I got interested in that. Took a couple permaculture trainings. Took grazing and management training. Found a land-owner that had land that he wanted to have grazed. He understood the value of that. It’s 8 miles from here. We started off 4 years ago. We bought the fencing, the sheep and the hay and everything. And we got through a year at the cost of a down payment on a hybrid car. Yet, I’m getting roughly 10 tons per acre of CO2 sequestered. So, five acres? Fifty tons. Boy, that’s more than my family carbon footprint.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Can you describe your main approach, in farming and in developing natural systems?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think understanding food, and how it relates to natural systems, and understanding the climate as how it relates to systems, and how to grow things that way—I think it’s all tied together. And that’s what I work on. I’m working with sheep. I’m getting a cow or two, to do more grazing. It all fits together. I’m growing food. But not eroding. Sequestering carbon at a pretty good rate. I figure my carbon footprint is more than offset in just a few acres, at a much lower cost than you could do by changing to a hybrid car, or insulating the house and all those things. I do those things, or want to do more of those things. But they are more costly than actually getting carbon sequestered. So my environmental choice is to work on more land and get more of that happening.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How does the development of healthy natural systems help with our problem of climate change?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: It’s very different from the typical climate approaches we have. And that’s one of the things I’m hoping to get at. It has to do with getting carbon out of the atmosphere, instead of simply reducing what emit. Look at all the damage you see being done by extreme weather, ice melting, sea level rise, a number of related types of things. It’s already happening. One estimate came out to $1.2 trillion dollars per year of damage, and 400,000 climate-related premature deaths…we have a problem already. That isn’t due to what we’re going to emit that we’re trying to stop: it has to do with what has already been emitted, that is still lingering in the atmosphere.</p> <p dir="ltr">How do we deal with that? Photosynthesis is one thing that nature does all the time. It’s reversing that flow of CO2 from our emissions, and getting it back into living things.</p> <p dir="ltr">We were at 400 parts per million let’s say back in May…And now in September, October, we reached in the range of 393 parts per million (of CO2). Well, what happened? Well, nature pulled a heck of a lot of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Natural systems are capable of doing this. About a third of what we emit gets pulled back into soil and biomass, every year.</p> <p dir="ltr">The climate movement and climate science seems to be more geared towards reducing emissions, instead of dealing with the carbon that’s already in the atmosphere. And I think that needs to change. It needs to change rapidly…getting away from just a narrow approach to dealing with the climate, to a much broader approach that involves natural systems that provide all these services. We recycle everything else – why not carbon? We send it into the atmosphere, and we forget about it. “Well, I wanna stop the next ton,” ya know? What about the 200 gigatons that are extra, right now?</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: And so how does this approach of developing healthy natural systems also tie into food, and sustainable food growth?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The thrust should be in growing the healthiest food possible. I think there’s also some value in some of the annual agriculture. But I think it’s limited, and needs to be a part of a natural system as well. There are people who understand how plants really work, and what it takes to grow the healthiest food possible. We need to find ways to…get our soils healthier, and renew them, and reverse what we’ve done.</p> <p dir="ltr">What does it take to grow a plant? You need DNA. You need water and CO2…What else do you need? You need some minerals. You need nitrogen to make the amino acids. You really need soil biology to make this work. You need sunlight to get the photosynthesis started. You need warmth. You need some kind of warm temperature to make it work as well…Big Ag says you need to buy things. So, It seems to be harder and harder to buy all the things you need to do this right, according to Big Ag…A lot of times they’ll be buying seed. Well, you can also save seed – there’s ways to do that. A lot of farmers add a lot of minerals. Well, if you’ve got clay soil like we do here, you don’t need minerals. Almost all of them are there. Above every farm is well more than enough nitrogen to grow anything you could possibly want (with nitrogren-fixing bacteria)… Healthy plants can resist pretty much all pests and diseases…All these needs are there, are being met on the farm, if you do a natural method of farming.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How do your methods of natural system development relate to ecosystem services, and the sustainability of the landscape as a whole?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Dr. Ratan Lal…he’s the well-known soil scientist at Ohio State, estimates that for every ton of carbon in the soil, the value is about $200 in services of minerals, and mineralization, and topsoil, and avoiding topsoil loss, and soil biology.</p> <p dir="ltr">Plus, if these practices are adopted on a broader scale, that would mean less extinction, and less desertification. There’s more abundance of timber and forest crops and things like that. The benefits are huge. More than just climate. They have to do with extinction, desertification, and food. I’m looking at successes and saying, “Boy, if we harvested water better, if we were able to graze more at-risk rangelands—it could be a whole different picture here. More forestry. Bring back these forests that we had—and provide for our needs. We’re talking energy; we’re talking timber; we’re talking food; medicinals – forest medicinals are important. And we’re talking less erosion too. So, I think it’s all important. All ties together.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: What do you envision for yourself, for others in the community, and for the world in terms of future directions relating to these sorts of practices?</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">A: [It’s] kind of my motto: more life. We need much more life in a hurry…More life. Get more life going. We don’t have a lot of choices but to…I think we need to recreate Eden, basically. That’s what our choice is. We don’t – we extinct ourselves out, or we warm ourselves to death, or we run out of land, because we’re creating deserts and urban spaces that just consume it. So, that’s the trajectory we’re on now. That has to be totally turned around. So, how do you do it? Recreate Eden. That’s our choice. I’m one that looks at my little sheep ranch and multiplying that kind of thing by two billion or ten billion acres, and figuring: “Yeah, if we did that, that would be huge.”</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Peter Comings</h1> <p>2014-06-17T15:43:25+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr">Peter Comings is a resident of Oberlin who grew up in town and came back a few years ago with his family because of the positive, forward-thinking mindset he sees here. One of his hopes for Oberlin is that people come to see themselves as important parts of the sustainable, progressive actions Oberlin is taking.</p> <p><strong>Q: What are some words and images that first come to mind when describing Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: College, green, both the thought process and the actual world around. I grew up here born and raised, so I’m surprised in some ways by how little has changed in the town. The features of it are, much of them, still the same. I think that it’s a town that’s willing to try things.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: So you grew up here, but did you move out at any point?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Yeah, I graduated from high school, then left and went to Iowa for ten years, Michigan for ten years, and then three years ago moved back with my family.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What made you decide to move back?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: When I looked at Oberlin and Northeast Ohio I saw that the unemployment rate was marginally better and I had become aware of the Oberlin Project. And at the time, about 2009, we were still really feeling the initial shock wave of the markets doing what they were doing. And I see Oberlin trying to stand up and say we’re not gonna depend on forces outside of Oberlin, we’re gonna see what we can do inside of Oberlin to create something sustainable. And that seems like a very positive, forward-thinking move, like it would probably gain an enough traction to have a meaningful life to it. That and just the general cultural diversity.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What does the word ‘sustainability’ mean to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I could answer that differently probably on any given day. So just stream of consciousness, sustainable is approaching development in a way that doesn’t burn itself out, whether it would burn itself out because of using up resources or having used up enthusiasm. Sustainable very obviously also has an environmental component. Some probably look at that as the primary definition of sustainable - water conservation, conserving electricity. And what I think is great about what I see as the Oberlin Project is that it tries to bring all of that together.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What kind of things are you doing in your life that you would consider sustainable?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: You know I turn off lights in the house, encourage the kids to take shorter showers. We buy from the farmers’ market. Other things - I want to vest myself more in the Oberlin Project to be a part of however that results in making things sustainable here. So I’ve, in the last year, tried to pay more attention to the Oberlin Project and how I can help be a part of the definitions that come from that.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Do you have any specific messages you would like to share with other community members about why this is important and how we might make changes toward sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well I gotta believe that a lot of the community already believes that. That’s what I want to believe. And maybe not everyone does. But I think that even people who live in town who don’t know that they think that way might surprise themselves if they go somewhere else. In December I went to a community meeting that was put on by the Oberlin Project...and after having gone to that community meeting, I was saying that maybe I had a mistaken concept of what the Oberlin Project was. I knew what I wanted it to be, but part of what I wanted it to be and to answer your question, is that I wanted there to be more apparent conversation about it in the community. I think that in terms of community conversation I would just love to see more. So I blogged about it. In December I created a Google Plus page called “What’s your Oberlin project” - capital Oberlin, lowercase project, because I’m not trying to identify it precisely with this entity here, but just to the point of having a conversation. For me being able to communicate those messages happens more easily when I’m in a group or in a conversation and can hear in real time what people think or don’t think. I have conversations prepared in my head for when people dismiss the Oberlin Project, so I could say, “Well what do you already do? Do you turn off a light when you leave the room? Well then you’re part of the Oberlin Project...” Do you use the energy saving light bulbs? - okay, Oberlin Project. Do you grow your own tomatoes during the summer? - Oberlin Project. Just to find whatever little kernel of thing that identifies with the Oberlin Project. I think that there could be enough of those drawn together where people could start to be more passionate about it.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Janet Haar</h1> <p>2014-06-13T18:07:02+00:00</p> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><i>Mrs. Janet Haar, the director of the Oberlin Business Partnership, likes to call her business a “three-legged stool”. The OBP combines a chamber of commerce, main street organization, and visitors’ bureau all into one. Haar followed son Blake New (men’s soccer coach for Oberlin College and owner of Slow Train cafe and the Local) to Oberlin after he implied that her work was needed in Oberlin. He was right. Janet Haar has done a great deal for the community. She is constantly thinking about the future and what would benefit her business in the long-run. Economic and environmental sustainability plays a key role in not only her professional life, but in her personal life as well.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its role in the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p>A: The Oberlin Business Partnership is an organization that combines a chamber of commerce and a main street organization. Main street organizations have traditionally been the historic preservation groups in town. If we were kind of ablated downtown and had a lot of empty storefronts and bad buildings and that sort of thing, then what we help to do is preserve those buildings and build them up. We did that last year through this grant that we got from the state of Ohio. Let’s say a business needs a new roof, and the roof is going to cost $20,000. They can actually be granted half of that. So, through the grant, they have to have the professional people do it, and they have to meet some criteria, but their $20,000 roof cost them $10,000. Or, if they have a $30,000 project, we can give them $10,000 on it. So, what we have been able to do is leverage $170,000 of grant money into over $500,000 of improvement in the city by doing that. So, we work that way through the main street. Chamber of commerce is more helping people get to know one another in the city; helping present their businesses to their fellow businessmen as well as to the residents in the city. Helping them do some advertising and some marketing and running their business. We’re also- I’d like to say we’re a three-legged stool- the other leg of that stool is that we’re the visitors’ bureau for the Oberlin area because we don’t really have one. So what we do is the city gives us bed tax money- the money that people pay in taxes to stay at the Oberlin Inn and some other places in Oberlin- they give us that money and say, “With this money, promote Oberlin”. So, when we have events in the city or when we just want people to come and visit and stay and invest, we market and promote Oberlin in every way that we can.</p> <p><strong>Q: Have you had any interaction with the Environmental Digital signs in the Public Library, the AJLC, or Prospect Elementary school, and if so, what do you think about it?</strong></p> <p>A: Slow Train? Is that one?</p> <p><i>Yes. </i></p> <p>Well, for months, this office actually did the updating of the Slow Train dashboard, but we usually use an intern to do it and they were coming in and coming out. The one in the library I’m most familiar with, and I think that’s great for people. I’ve seen people stand there and look at it. I’ve been to several of the explanations of what it is, so I’m really interested in it. And I find that some people want to know what it is and don’t quite know, so the more you can communicate the better. And then I have a granddaughter who’s at Prospect School, and she loves it. She talks about it a lot.</p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Norman Rockwell. It’s a small town with a lot of the amenities of the larger met areas. The fact that it’s a college town and that many people have chosen to retire here speaks volumes.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to live, work, educate or be educated, play, or establish a business in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: The short answer is: my son, Blake New, who is the men’s soccer coach at Oberlin College. He’s been here for about 18 years and has a family here; he and his wife and Zach Tesler own the Slow Train cafe and the Local. This job came open and he called and he said, “Mom, you have to come do this. We need you in Oberlin.” So that’s the short of it. My background is with a small business development center in Cleveland and working with the council small enterprises there. And then I actually retired for a while before he called and said “Mom, you have to come do this.”</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare [or “wellbeing” or “health”] of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean to you?</strong></p> <p>A: In my business life, in this position, it means more of an economic sustainability because we represent the town of Oberlin which includes the small businesses, and Oberlin is made up of a lot of small businesses. So, their ability to sustain themselves is interconnected with environmental sustainability, and we’re trying to help them see that. I just worked with a group of students on a project, actually, we just met an hour ago, and their project was helping us to create some criteria that we could use when we talk to the businesses so they could understand how they could become more environmentally sustainable which would help them become more economically sustainable.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you [your business or organization] engaged in that relate to sustainability? (i.e. water conservation, electric conservation, local spending, education, services, and/or products, etc.)</strong></p> <p>A: I think I’ll go back to what I just said. We are understanding that return on investment, which is an economic standard, has a lot to do with environment. And the future of economic return has a lot to do with the environment. So, I would say, education services connecting people that are associated more with the environmental part to the people who are associated with the economic part is one of our roles. </p> <p><strong>Q: How would you answer that question personally? In other words, in your own home, what do you do sustainability wise? </strong></p> <p>A: Well, since I have a granddaughter who monitors everything we do… she’s a nine-year-old who comes into our house and she checks our thermostat to say “Okay, Mimi, you’re doing good, that’s set right!” She checks the light bulbs to make sure we have the right light bulbs. Water conservation is just something we do automatically. You know, turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth and don’t water the yard when you don’t need to water it. Personally, we also have rental units, so we put together a whole education for our tenants on water usage and electric and heat. They like to keep their heat at 80 degrees and we say “No, layer”.</p> <p><strong>Q: What inspires you to take these actions?</strong></p> <p>A: I would like to think that my generation is leaving the world better than we found it, and I know that’s not true. So, I think it’s important, and the reason I do this and try to educate and work with my grandchildren especially on this is because I’d like for them to leave the world better than they found it.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living/respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: I think one of the things I would like to tell them, and I say this about a lot of things, is that I believe in having an abundance mentality, which is there’s enough to go around for everyone, but sharing it and using it responsibly is how we continue to have enough to go around for everyone. So, from the economic standpoint, when you look at things from a scarcity mentality, you’re saying “Oh my goodness, I’m the only one that can do this and there’s not enough to go around so I better do it right now.” When you look at it from an abundance mentality you’re saying, “Wow, there’s enough to go around, so how can we work together to make sure that everybody gets a piece of it?”</p> <p><strong>Q: Are you involved in the efficiency smart program?</strong></p> <p>A: From the standpoint of working with the organization POWER (Providing Oberlin with Efficiency Responsibly), POWER’s a member and we’re going to do a special presentation with them in June to try to get the small businesses on board knowing that they can have them come in and look what they’re doing and give them some suggestions and things like that. So, from that perspective, yes.</p> <p><strong>Q: What advice/tips would you offer to other business owners who are interested in adopting sustainable initiatives?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, we just finished working with these students who came up with some great criteria. I think they’re doing their presentation next week in class, and as soon as we have all of that information, we’re going to be using it to talk to the businesses about how they can use it. So, I can’t give you anything specifically, but we’re going to be doing a lot of things. We modeled some of the things that we are doing on this sheet that I saw when I was waiting in a doctor’s office. It’s a list of some of the businesses in the area and it starts out with “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union…. with nature.” And so the businesses are advertising themselves based on what they do to make them more green. And so that’s what we’re going to be doing, and the students have helped us put together the criteria for doing that.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think sustainability is a relevant factor in making business decisions and why?</strong></p> <p>A: Absolutely both economically and environmentally. If I only think about today, then I only make it through today. If I think about tomorrow and the next day and the next day, and what would benefit me in the long run, then I’m taking a long-term view of my business therefore I’m going to put things in place and do things differently than if I’m just worried about tomorrow. So, from that perspective, absolutely, and I think the environment is exactly the same way.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do your beliefs about sustainability influence your business model practices?</strong></p> <p>A: Many times people go into business, especially small-business people, because they don’t want to work for someone else or they have a great idea or they have a hobby they love to do and they think they can turn it into a business, not realizing that they don’t know how to run a business. And I think you can say the same thing about some environmental things that are done, people have a great idea for doing things without thinking “Okay, what effect does this have on the environment and what could I do that would be better for the environment”. We try to teach people what could they do that would be better for their longevity vs. what could I do for today. It’s almost the same thing</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Marleen Watling</h1> <p>2014-06-06T18:24:54+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Marleen Watling is a librarian at the Oberlin Public Library. When the weather allows, she bikes all the way to and from her home in North Ridgeville 3 days a week. Biking has become a real positive force in her life, as a way of not only reducing her energy use, but also of feeling healthier and more connected to the environment.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What are some words or images you would use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Green is one of the things that comes to my mind. The library seems to be a very busy place, so I’m going to say there’s a community consciousness about the library that’s really right up my alley. The Bridge has the technology areas covered. So, I think that it’s a joint community of students and people who live here, people who work here, people who own businesses here. I see that as a pretty good union.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How would you define ‘sustainability’ for yourself?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Sustainability to me is about how you can use fewer resources. My thoughts go to recycling, mine go to alternative modes of transportation. You know, rain barrels, planting gardens.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What kind of actions are you taking in your life that you think are contributing to your view of sustainability, and could benefit the community?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, I’ve been biking to work back and forth, and I live in North Ridgeville, so it’s a good hike - about an hour ride. And I get to use the bike path. I have to go through downtown Elyria too. I took up a challenge that Oberlin had, and from there on I thought, “I really just feel better.” I was trying to average at least 3 days a week, riding my bike to and from work. And I felt really good about that.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Was that hard to start?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: No, I love to bike so that wasn’t a big problem. My problem is more just checking my days to make sure I could afford to bike to and from work and I didn’t have anything else going on. When I had my mom living with me, I couldn’t do that, because I had to get home in time to make sure she got the bus from her daycare, you know, so that was impossible. It was pretty simple this year. I did 4 and a half days one week. And giving an incentive to bike was really fun. It started me on the road. I never would have tried so hard if I hadn’t thought, “this is a challenge, an internal challenge for me.” It was kind of fun. You know, we had to log on and put in our miles every day. So I kind of liked the little competition part of it.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: It might be harder to convince some people that these sorts of life choices are important. Do you have any ideas about some approaches you might take to try and convince people?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I tried the one-on-one approach with a few people I know. And they think I’m crazy [laughs]. And I’ve told some people, “You know if you just left your house ten minutes early you could walk to work and walk back.” I had internal drive to meet some goals I had set. I kept telling myself 3 days a week at least. It was something I had set as a goal for myself. And then I talk to people here when they come and they’re looking for things, and if they talk about growing a garden, I’m very quick to show them we have a great collection on gardening. And people might want to know dietary things and workouts and stuff. So I just kind of blend in the thing about how I bike and how if you could walk more places and give yourself just a little extra time...So I’m just kind of showing them the resources and talking about what I’m doing. You know, if I can ride my bike from North Ridgeville, and I’m old, certainly you could walk half a mile to work and not take a car.</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Robert Q. Thompson</h1> <p>2014-05-12T18:43:00+00:00</p> <p><i>Robert Q. Thompson is a chemistry professor at Oberlin College. He has invested time, money, and effort into installing solar panels in his home and has created an energy-efficient and green household. He has lived in Oberlin and worked at the college for thirty-two years. </i></p> <p><i> </i><strong>Q: What was the process of making your home more ‘green’ like for you? What did it teach you about environmental design and construction?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, it was a big investment for me. I’ve always thought about it and I finally had the wherewithal to do that. There was a Federal rebate, a tax rebate for it at that time, and I thought if I talk about it, I should put my money where my mouth is and do something about it as well. I felt it would be kind of interesting for more people to get involved in that. I use it in the Solar Tour and I have had students come look at the house and I thought it was a good way to showcase what can be done in Northeastern Ohio. I know a neighbor of mine was talking to a friend who saw the solar panels going up and said, “this is never going to work, it’s Ohio” but we make more energy than we use and that’s been great.</p> <p><strong>Q: So, whom do you hope that you inspired by installing the solar panels on your home and who or what inspired you to do so?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, I think through the Solar Tour and talking to people, I think—I don’t know if inspires is the right word—but I’ve interested people in solar panels and having them in their homes and in trying to make their homes as efficient as possible. It’s always good for people to talk to those who’ve actually done these things rather than just talking to someone about ‘is it possible’. I hope I’ve given them the information they need and what they do with it or not, it’s their own decision. I guess—I don’t know if I was inspired by any particular event or any particular person—just being in this environment and being part of committees and other groups that talked about sustainability, I think that helped me realize what I could do as an individual. And again, it’s an expensive enterprise, it’s not something I can ever pay back, but it’s a contribution that I felt I needed to make to the world, to the environment.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word sustainability to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean to you and in your own life?</strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability, to me, I think means that we try to be stewards of our resources and be careful of our resources knowing that they are limited and expensive to attain. We try to use as little as possible and re-use when we can. We try to think globally because everything is interconnected. So what we do, even though it seems minor, can have a major effect, collectively, on the world. Those are the kind of things I think about—trying to preserve the world for future generations.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow Oberlin community members—not necessarily just people within the college, but people within the town as well—regarding how Oberlin as a town has been in terms of its environmental practices?</strong></p> <p>A: I mean, I don’t want to act like I know more than anyone or it is only about profit or something. I think, in general, Oberlin is saying that they want to be a green town and that most people want to be involved in that. Some people in small ways like recycling, but then in other ways like working with power to get the pumps fixed up. I think it’s a good feeling within the community as a whole, the community as a whole is working towards this goal and being able to do that in as many ways as possible. So that’s what I hope, and that’s why it’s a nice community. It’s diverse, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re bringing everyone on board instead of just saying ‘we’re moving forward’.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you could use one word or one image to describe Oberlin, what would it be and why?</strong></p> <p>A: Fearless! [laughs] I think socially-conscious…that’s hyphenated. Oberlin as a town and as a college is progressive, forward-thinking, pushing the envelope. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Charles Horton</h1> <p>2014-04-29T13:45:10+00:00</p> <p><i>Mr. Charles Horton, Oberlin resident and entrepreneur, is the proprietor of Custom Cleaning Services located in the Industrial Parkway. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Horton came to Oberlin more than thirty years ago “with the intent of starting a business.”</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin? </strong></p> <p>A: Images to describe Oberlin…Nice, small, quaint place to live.</p> <p><strong>Q: How is it that you came to open your business in Oberlin? Are you a lifelong resident? </strong></p> <p>A: No. I moved here from Detroit, Michigan. And I came here with the intent of starting a business.</p> <p><strong>Q: Why did you choose to open your business here? </strong></p> <p>A: Small town. I just thought that starting a business in a small town would give me…a little faster opportunity to grow the business.</p> <p><strong>Q: Could you briefly describe the nature of your business and its function in the community here? </strong></p> <p>A: We offer a full service janitorial company. We also specialize in fire and flood cleanup. So we do a lot of residential work here in town; we do a lot of commercial work here in town. Many of the businesses in town are my customers. Once upon a time, when the Industrial Parkway was full, we had all the customers on the Industrial Parkway.</p> <p><strong>Q: The word sustainability can be used to describe actions that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of a community. What does sustainability mean to you as a resident and business owner? </strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability is important for the community, it’s important for the downtown, and it’s important for the folks that patronize and live in the community. It’s good that anything that we want we can go right downtown or we can have that service here versus having to go outside of the community to get what we want.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think sustainability is a relevant factor in making business decisions? </strong></p> <p>A: Yes, I would say yes.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do your beliefs about sustainability influence your business model and your business practices? </strong></p> <p>A: Well, if many of the customers in Oberlin are in existence, the sustainability is important to me because those are my customers. If those customers leave the community, then I’ve lost a customer, so it’s very important that everything in Oberlin stay as it is. And Oberlin needs to be a place that is willing to grow…because that’s also new potential customers for me.</p> <p><strong>Q: What advice would you offer to other business owners who want to try to be more sustainable? </strong></p> <p>A: I think we need to do as much as we can to diversify; we need to be able to offer in our services what folks are willing to purchase.</p> <p><strong>Q: What sorts of economic development would you like to see in Oberlin in the future? </strong></p> <p>A: I would like to see the Industrial Parkway grow. It’s important for the community. Folks in the community need a place to work and there just need to be more good jobs on the Industrial Parkway. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Russell Benjamin</h1> <p>2014-04-18T15:11:25+00:00</p> <p><i>Russell Benjamin is a woodworker and a contractor. He is interested in green and energy efficient construction and community development. In addition to living in Oberlin, he also lives in the Pemaquid Peninsula in Maine. He is a strong proponent of education and enjoys travelling.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Dynamic, progressive, vibrant, alive—the downtown is still very much alive, mostly because of the students needing to have close by services.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community.” What does sustainability mean to you and mean in your own life?</strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability, to me, means using the resources we have as well as we can and using them to the utmost of their longevity. I am a proponent of, for example, fiber cement siding because it uses materials that include materials that were waste and it uses materials that will last for a long time. Wood siding is not so sustainable—it doesn’t last as long, although certain species like the White Cedar, which they use in New England, last a long time with proper care.</p> <p><strong>Q: Has anyone or anything in particular inspired you to be interested in sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, the practicality of sustainability is one reason. I consider myself to be a very practical person. When you’re looking at projects, you know, sustainable to me is using products that last longer, and when they’re done, it’s important to think about whether they will return to the earth or sit in a landfill. When I think about what products and processes I want to use, I think about the environment. I care about the environment, I care about air quality, and so it’s just kind of a personal mode of operation that brings me to thinking a certain way. Those things are practical and they make sense to me.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding their treatment of the environment?</strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability takes time, a longer vision, and a longer time frame. Most people are stuck in the immediate meeting of their needs—putting siding back on their house, heating their house—and they think about what will be the cheapest at that moment. So, to take the long view on these issues, I think they might arrive at different decisions when they’re making these decisions. They’ll think about their children, the next five generations, and they’ll take the long view. We are all kind of caught up in our immediate needs, and the long view needs to always be looked at.</p> <p><strong>Q: When you envision what Oberlin will be like in 25 or 50 years, what would you want to see in that vision?</strong></p> <p>One thing I would like to see is sustainable structures that are affordable in place of older and less environmentally-friendly structures. I’d also like to see more solar panels and a true embracing of sustainability, which is taking that long view. Let’s start now, and in fifty years, we’ll have a utopia.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Alan Mitchell</h1> <p>2014-04-10T15:08:51+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Alan Mitchell is Oberlin Community Services’ Food Coordinator and an active Oberlin resident, exemplary in his care for others. Alan grew up in Oberlin and after being away for a decade, during which time he attended college and serving in the Navy, he returned to raise his family in an environment he feels can teach his kids essential values.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:</strong></p> <p>The words I would use are: Forward thinking. In terms of images, having grown up here, I always think back to the architectural piece, right there on the corner of professor and college: It’s those railroad tracks that run directly into the ground that symbolize the Underground Railroad.</p> <p><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean in your life?</strong></p> <p>Not losing ground, economically or socially in terms of the degradation of values and friendship networks, and also being able to re-instill the values that we’ve kind of lost in our society: conservation, recycling, composting.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">We are actively trying to educate all of our clients so that they have a role in the local food system in terms of being producers as well as consumers. We are a zero waste partner and recycle all different kinds of products that come in.</p> <p dir="ltr">We are also able to redistribute some of the wealth [in the community], because we use OCS as a space to donate items. Working primarily as a Food Distribution Coordinator I can tell you that usually most of the food that we get has not been planted with the intention of coming to OCS in order to redistribute to those in need*...It comes to us and we buy it within seconds, putting to use things that would otherwise not be usable. And we are able to help people to live by giving them those items.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">*Stay tuned for Oberlin Community Services’ Plant an Extra Row campaign this Spring!</span></em></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Any advice for your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living and respect for nature?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In the work that I do, just personally, the values that I think are important: I’d love for more people to care more about food and shelter, because they are things that may not be human rights but they are human needs, and they are things that we could probably do a better job at helping people to achieve, because these are our neighbors, these are our friends. Food is the area that I’m working in right now, and there’s a huge need, the social safety net is broken, and it’s not as if we’re going to fix that all by itself. We’ve got to recognize it and work at it, so it’s a challenge that we should take on.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Barbara Pierce</h1> <p>2014-04-07T18:14:09+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Barbara Pierce, an Oberlin resident and the first post-war blind student to attend Oberlin College, has worked for the last 40 years for the National Federation of the Blind, advocating for the civil rights of blind people. She is a leader nationwide as well as in the Oberlin community.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Friendly, conscientious, passionate, intense.</p> <p dir="ltr">Friendly: I think small towns are friendly because there’s a greater amount of noticing and caring about what’s happening to people and the willingness to step forward and help by providing things such as transportation or making meals.</p> <p dir="ltr">Passionate: I’m very involved with the civil rights of the blind. It’s a low-incidence disability. People don’t know about blindness; yet, when I get a forum to talk about the problems, I’ve got people revving up… they are horrified that people are earning 15 cents an hour in sheltered workshops, and they are ready to roll up their sleeves and do something about it. You can get people to care.</p> <p dir="ltr">Intense: There’s always something bubbling away on the front burner, here. Like the intense desire to be in the forefront in being ecologically responsible. I take great pride in Oberlin and Oberlin’s willingness not to be irresponsible.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean in your life?</strong></p> <p>A: The ability to live in such a way that you can keep going, that you don’t tap out your resources, that you’ve got enough to carry on with.</p> <p>We use to have little exercises years ago, in which for a week or a month we would undertake to live on what somebody living on welfare had to spend on food. So we ate hot dogs, bread, and canned fruit…. And it was exhausting and humbling…. And the kids drank reconstituted dry milk and hated it! But it was important to do it, and obviously we survived and we did okay with the exercise, and I knew that, if we didn’t have any more money than that, we could manage, but it wasn’t easy or fun. But we knew there was an end to the experiment, and that made it artificial.</p> <p>So sustainability to me means that you can keep going with the effort, that it’s not so exhausting to put one foot in front of the other that you don’t have time to think of anything other than where your next meal is going to come from.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, we drive a hybrid car, and we made it clear to our kids that, if they wanted to drive hybrid cars, we would make up the difference in what it would cost them to buy a hybrid car. And Anne our daughter did do that. Bob walks everywhere, and of course, since I don’t drive, I walk everywhere also. And I see that as intentional conservation of gasoline.</p> <p dir="ltr">We’ve got the curly light bulbs. I try to watch water consumption and hot water consumption. I wash my clothes in cold water. I have a Laundry Pure that ionizes the wash water to remove dirt, making detergent unnecessary.</p> <p dir="ltr">We are pretty adamant about turning off lights and turning down the heat at night.</p> <p dir="ltr">And I personally always keep the lights off.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Equal rights is part of sustainability, I mean I don’t believe we can cater to a certain segment of the community and call it sustainability…We need to look at everybody joining together. And I think that the work that you’ve done as a leader, to help people become integrated into society so they are treated as an equal person…Can you speak about what you’ve done there?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: “Well since 1974 I’ve been active with the National Federation of the Blind, which is a consumer rights organization, and it really is aimed at precisely what you talk about: equal justice, equal rights. There is a tendency to wrap disabled people in cotton batting and put them safely up on the shelf, so they won’t get hurt and won’t get in people’s way…So partly what I do is to insert myself and get in people’s way.</p> <p dir="ltr">My children were highly insulted at the way people stared at me because I use a long cane when I walk. They constituted themselves “the stare-back contingent.” I couldn’t see people staring at me, and of course the way you get people to stop staring is to stare back at them. So they simply denominated themselves as the people to stare people out of countenance and made them stop watching…That was good for them, they needed to do that.</p> <p dir="ltr">I remember once I was walking down the street with Marky in a backpack and Anne was riding a tricycle in front of me. I called to her to stop at the corner, and she did. A man was there lecturing her about how she had to be careful to take care of me. She was three; she had not the least notion of what he was talking about…But this tells you about the presumption that being equipped with vision gives one control, power over somebody else. People ask me why I don’t use a dog, and I tell them because I’ve never met a dog that is as intelligent as I am. I know I couldn’t trust a dog because I want the full force of intelligence to make decisions about whether the traffic is stopping or the light has turned or whatever it may be.</p> <p dir="ltr">I’m always pushing on societal expectations of blind people and what is fair treatment. We have a 70% unemployment rate, and that’s not because 70% of us are incapable of holding down a job. It’s because people don’t believe that we are capable. They say, “I can’t afford to release someone to take you to the bathroom.” Umm, who asked you to take me to the bathroom? I mean, how do you think I got to this employment interview?</p> <p dir="ltr">So I am always, always pushing the social norms, the social expectations. I value the seven years I worked for Oberlin College because I was in the face of every alum coming back here. Every time I planned a reunion and competently got the paperwork done, and dealt with the problems facing reunion-planning committees, I reminded them that blind people are able to function independently, and who knows what effect that may have had on their hiring practices. Jobs are key to equality. Once you give a person a job, then you give them the right to economic independence.</p> <p><strong>Q: Any advice for your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: I wish people would put a blindfold on and walk along the sidewalk in front of their houses and notice how rough the pavement is and how many low hanging branches there are. There have been times when I’ve been particularly annoyed and I have carried clippers with me, and, when I hit something with my head, I simply clip off the branch and leave it lying on the sidewalk. Being mindful of these things, it would be a courtesy to all walkers, but especially to the blind. There are several of us in town now. People don’t pick up their feet, which is what you have to do with these uneven sidewalks…</p> <p>This is inspiring to really appropriately transmit what environmental justice means… because sustainability is suppose to be the balance between economy, environment, and social justice, but social justice gets the short end of the stick.</p> <p>A: Well that’s because there’s a bunch of people who have social justice. But everybody can benefit from a better economy and a better environment. We all benefit if we lower the carbon footprint of the community, but social justice, there a lot of people who have theirs, and they don’t think of how fragile that can be. All it takes is a stroke or a fall for it to be gone.</p> <p>Think about appliances. Try to find a stove that a blind person can operate: you can’t do it. And that’s not because it’s harder or wildly expensive to make, but because design has gone the direction of smooth and sleek, flat panels, LED controls.</p> <p>I get calls all the time: “How can I help my mother dial the telephone better? She can’t see the numbers on the telephone anymore...How can I get this fixed for her?” Really, there aren’t good solutions.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s not for nothing that people refer to the able bodied as the temporarily abled. You live long enough, and you start losing your capacities.</p> <p dir="ltr">Universal accessibility should be build-in everywhere.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Lisa Kavanagh</h1> <p>2014-03-24T14:09:43+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Lisa Kavanagh is a retired Oberlin resident with a rare mitochondrial disorder caused by Lyme disease who is passionate about influencing change towards a sustainable future. Although she only has a few hours of energy a day, she is very active through online forums, writing letters, and making environmentally conscious consumer choices. More than anything she makes sure she starts with herself, nurturing a holistic philosophy with the natural environment.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What word(s) or image(s) would you use to describe Oberlin:</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Oberlin is like a microcosm of people, a collection of people with so many different backgrounds, coming together in a peaceful way. I think that we are people who are progressive, who want a better world, that want to live in a better place.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Can you elaborate a little bit?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: From a social perspective, from the environmental perspective, and the humanitarian perspective, Oberlin works toward the betterment of society.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How is it that you came to live, work, educate/or be educated, play, or establish a business in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: My sister lived here for about 20 years, we were both on the East Coast in Connecticut. When she moved out here, I’d come and visit, and fell in love with it. There was some sort of creative energy that I would feel, a sense of peace, serenity, that I didn’t feel on the east coast, with everybody rushing and everybody out to make a dollar, fighting for parking spot, hours on I-95 trying to get to work when its fifteen miles away. It’s just crazy. And when I came to Oberlin, I felt I could breathe. I ended up moving out here, my mom had moved out here as well, so I wanted to be close to my family.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance/maintain the economic, environmental and social welfare of the Oberlin community. What does sustainability mean in your life?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The same. It's a constant chore, I shouldn’t say chore, labor of love…to maintain sustainability in every aspect of life. It's a balance when you have a group of people working towards that in all aspects of their life, because we are little environments ourselves. On the cellular level, what’s going on in here depends on what’s going on out there in the world. So maintaining homeostasis is a constant effort.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’m an activist from my computer. As far as conservation, the products that I use at home are either things that I’ve made or things that don’t disturb the environment. Cleaning stuff… for example, vinegar and water. Natural. Nothing artificial. Nothing artificial goes into my body.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Can you elaborate a little bit on that too?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I make my own shampoo. Cleaning solutions – vinegar and water. That’s all you need, you don’t need all the sprays and stuff like that. I like to think that whatever I put down my drain, I might be drinking some day. Because if you look at it from that point of view…. you really have to hold yourself accountable for how you use your water. I kind of wish that was the way it was, we were all given a supply of water and it was only up to us to maintain. Some people would just destroy it, just like they do their bodies. Other people would just take really good care of it. I have a rare disorder, in my mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouse of every cell, so that means it’s where all your energy is produced. So conserving energy, is really personal to me, I have this much a day and I have to use it in a right away, or everything begins to slow down, heart….other organs. If you look at what we have here in terms of energy, we only have so much, use it to the best of your ability, think about it everyday, and I try to do that, in the way I live, I try to not be excessive.“</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: You’re doing this for yourself?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I have to. When you think about the stress eating something with pesticides has on your body that stress depletes you of energy.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Are you a big advocate for organic foods?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Absolutely. Our soil is living, it’s alive, and it’s a life. If we kill it, it’s our fault, and we’re supposed to be stewards, it’s our job.</p> <p dir="ltr">You know our practices haven’t done service to the soil at all. We’ve gone from 21 inches of topsoil to barely 4 inches in some parts of the states.</p> <p dir="ltr">My sister and her husband in Pennsylvania are organic farmers, so I’ve seen how it can be done, how it can be done cheaply. With raspberries for instance, for mulch they use sheep wool because it doesn’t break down, it’s organic, and it keeps the weeds and pests out. So it's a pretty amazing process. I’ve learned a lot from them, from what it means to conserve. They intern organic farmers, and take them to farmer’s markets. And when you see it working, you know it’s possible, it looks so overwhelming from the outside, but it’s so doable.</p> <p dir="ltr">Farming has changed a lot now…</p> <p dir="ltr">Yet farming is not for dummies, it takes a lot of organization, planning. I mean, it’s incredible the time that’s involved. People don’t realize what’s involved, they think it’s simple planting - they’re like, “What’s the big deal?” Like the perennial flowers so many people plant in their gardens; we don't know how they were grown, if they are GMO, and that's a huge concern.<br>Three concerns that I have for our planet and I think they’re doable… I don’t think that it’s too late. One is cleaning our air, we’ve got to know the truth, about what goes in our air, and that we’re not being told, there is no transparency. These are just basic things to sustain. Second, we need pure water. Why are we putting fluoride in our water? It is poison. Third is growing healthy food.</p> <p dir="ltr">It’s unreal that people are trying to control water too!</p> <p dir="ltr">Absolutely, and there’s a huge monopoly around who owns the water. It’s like a crazy cartoon that you would laugh at, if it weren’t true.</p> <p dir="ltr">These are the topics I advocate for online. I sign petitions and write letters to senators and congressman about things that I see going on, or that I hear. After reading articles of concern, even if I have no energy to get out and do, I can sit in my bed and do this, and spend little energy, and feel like I’ve accomplished something.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Any advice for your fellow community members regarding care for the environment/sustainable living respect for nature?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Start with yourself, start with your own world, in your own body. Tai chi, qigong, meditation, increased awareness of what goes on with your body, how you keep yourself. What you’re giving yourself will eventually trickle out to everything around you, and you will begin to have more respect for the environment. Start from the inside and move out. Look within first.</p> <p dir="ltr">Also, I really believe that it would be great if the city of Oberlin would allow everyone to have maybe two chickens or a couple rabbits in their yard just so one can get the idea of what farming is like, what sustainability is like. How they interact with each other, having chickens with bees for instance.</p> <p dir="ltr">I think there’s a disconnection, and it’s not a healthy disconnect, because if you look where it leads, that’s where the troubles start. The disconnection is with our mother, Earth. If we disconnect from her we all lose out.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ron Bier</h1> <p>2014-03-13T19:17:35+00:00</p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p><i>Ron Bier is a Chemistry and Environmental Science teacher at Oberlin Senior High School. While he hails originally from the east side of Cleveland, he and his family currently live in Amherst, Ohio.</i></p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin, and why would you choose those words or images? </strong></p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p>A: In terms of the community as a whole, it’s a very progressive city as a whole. It’s very well educated, very open-minded. I’d say it is quite liberal-thinking, which to me is always the way to go, and willing to think about tomorrow, which is what all of this environmentalism should be about. It should be about thinking about tomorrow more than we have in the past, when we didn’t think about the future much, and not thinking about it got us into some of the problems we’re having today. Oberlin wants to try new things and make things better for future generations, all of those kinds of feel-good stories.</p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p><strong>Q: A lot of people have different ways of defining sustainability, like using the term “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance or maintain the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of the Oberlin community.” What does sustainability mean to you, both as a community member and as a teacher?</strong></p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p>A: Sustainability in general forces us to look in the mirror and ask “are we doing what we’re doing now in ways that will carry us into the future without using too much energy, using too much water, eating too much food, if our houses are too big, what can we maintain?” I teach environmental science and I did a bit on our ecological footprint, looking at how much stuff Americans use compared to someone in Europe, compared to someone in Africa, or in South America. What it comes down to is that Americans just use—or consume—way too much of everything. We use too much energy, too much of our resources, too much food, too much water, we have a lot of waste, of course, going in and we don’t recycle. In those regards, we talk about sustainability a lot. We want to figure out how we can help to reduce our consumption—whatever it is—to make things more sustainable for the future. We want to see if we can reduce our usage. It forces us to look at our lives—we may not want to change much, but we’re going to have to.</p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p><strong>Q: When you teach students about their ecological footprint, how do they react to it? Are they surprised by the size of their footprint?</strong></p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p>A: They were interested. You could tell it was kind of sparking their brains. We get into these big, healthy discussions in class and people would say things like ‘if I’ve got to use my car less, how am I supposed to get to Wal-Mart and carry my stuff home?” or “if I want to go to the mall and buy school clothes, I can’t walk to Elyria and come back with all that stuff.” I could tell there were some heavy thoughts going on in their heads about taking shorter showers and turning lights off when they leave the room, and about recycling, with both organic and inorganic recycling. It really opened their eyes up—we asked them how many pairs of shoes they have, and it goes to show, everyone thinks that girls have more shoes but some of the boys had like thirty pairs. The conversation went off in all sorts of directions but it was a really good discussion about ecological footprints and how we can reduce it.</p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you want to tell your fellow community members—teachers, residents of Oberlin, etcetera—regarding the way that they care for the environment and about respecting nature?</strong></p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> <p>A: Wow, that’s a good one. I think maybe the biggest way, for me, as a teacher, to influence the way people respect nature is to spread the word. I say ‘dinner table talk’, but talk within the house when the kid goes home about what they learned in school that day or what they talked about in school that day, all these different things over a course of a year, or four years, if the kid is in my Environmental Science class or in any class about environmental issues, they take those thoughts and lessons home and share it with their mom and dad—or whoever they’re staying with, it could be a relative. They’ll ask, “hey, why aren’t we recycling in our house?” or, “hey, I learned in school today that if we turn off the lights in the basement when no one is down there, we could save $20 a year on electricity.” We talk about the next generation: kids eventually become adults and their decisions are often formed as kids, through things they learned at school and things that they begin to understand about the environment and the community. It’s even the small things that make a difference, like not littering. It’s as simple as that. Recycling, of course, as well. What they take with them from school can affect the rest of their lives, and it can be what they take to educate people at home. Everything starts to build up. The teachers here support the kids well, and even if there’s a kid that’s saying, “Okay, I’m keeping my distance,” the teachers stay patient. Education is ongoing, you know; it never ends. I’m fifty-one years old and I like to think that I’m educated every day.</p> <p><a href="blog/community-voices-shirley-owens"> </a></p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Shirley Owens</h1> <p>2014-03-13T18:56:13+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 2px; float: left; display: inline-table;"><em><strong><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16</span></strong></em></span>A lifelong Oberlin resident, Ms. Shirley Owens is General Manager of Quick and Delicious restaurant, located at 311 South Main Street. She believes in creating community through the continuous beautification of neighborhoods, and by making good-tasting food accessible to everyone. Ms. Owens is thankful that Quick and Delicious is equipped to serve people of all ages and abilities, giving customers the opportunity “to eat what you’d like to eat” in “a place where family and friends gather and hugs are free.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: Cultural. You just have to learn how to embrace what Oberlin has to offer. It’s a very nice community, and a lot of things that people don’t even know exist here have been here for a long time. You just have to know how to plan and make it happen when the events are available, and enjoy them.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: Can you share any examples of the types of cool events that take place here?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, a lot of things have to do with the college; they have a lot of really nice events that people can embrace and go to. There are plays that come about, and the museum. On Heritage Tours, you can learn more about some of the things that are available and get a chance to see some of the neighborhoods that have the history that brings Oberlin to life; the Underground Railroad and the development of our little community under those circumstances.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: Thanks! Can you talk a bit about your family’s history in Oberlin?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: I was born and raised here, basically in the restaurant business. My dad, Fred Owens, owned Campus Restaurant for eighteen, nineteen years; we delivered to the college, we did all those things. Campus Restaurant opened in 1969 in the downtown corridor of the Oberlin Savings Bank, which is now First Merit. It was an old-style ‘50s diner with individual jukebox machines at each table. It’s obviously meant for...our family to have a restaurant business here in Oberlin, ‘cause here we are again going into our tenth year.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: Some people use the word “sustainability” to mean actions that enhance the social, economic, and environmental welfare of the community. What has sustainability meant to you in your life and work?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to buy two homes in this community. One that I built - so I added a home - and one that I have reconditioned. So it’s really about continuously building or beautifying the Oberlin situation. We refurbished this whole building...so that was another things we tried to do for our community. I think that continuously making sure that you are being a part of the reconditioning of Oberlin is something that is really nice.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: Do you engage in any sustainability actions in your business?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: What we have done is we’ve saved cans and given them to area schools, like to help them buy a bus. We’ve also had the schools come to us and we’ve given them some of our styrofoam boxes for an experiment that they wanted to do. So we have been a part of decent things around the community, as best that we possibly can.</p> <p dir="ltr">We do try to make sure that we’re decently environmental; we recycle our corrugated cardboard boxes and our oil. The oil is recycled under contract with Darling Oil, a comanay which removes used oil from restaurants and recycles 100% of it into usable products (<a href="http://darlingii.com/UsedOilRemoval.aspx"> </a><a href="http://darlingii.com/UsedOilRemoval.aspx">http://darlingii.com/UsedOilRemoval.aspx</a>). That’s three or four different ways that restaurants can give back to the community or help out throughout the county, state; however these things become useful to anyone who ends up with them.</p> <p dir="ltr">Q: Is there anything else that you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding building sustainable relationships in the Oberlin community?</p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’m just thankful not to see a block on certain areas of Oberlin. Oberlin is a community, and as a community that’s how you build: You can’t have barriers. We’re thankful for what we can bring to [the community], because we bring a lot of people from all over to this place. We’re very self-conscious about how we feed people, how we treat people, and that’s what a restaurant’s really all about. We’re just a nice “Mom and Pop” where you can eat anything you’d like all day long...in a home environment type of family setting. Everyone needs to bring their own flavor, we brought ours. It makes it all more personal here and we’re thankful for that.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - David Gard</h1> <p>2013-10-21T20:22:44+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>David Gard was hired the end of September 2013 as the Executive Director of the Oberlin Project. Prior to the Oberlin Project, David Gard worked at the Michigan Energy Council as the Program Director. David completed the Erb Institute MBA/MS Program at the University of Michigan, worked as a design engineer, and served in the U.S. Navy. He grew up in Cincinnati, OH and has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University.</em></p> <p><strong>What excites you about the Oberlin Project?</strong></p> <p>Oberlin is a recognized leader among efforts to achieve resilient communities. Our biggest challenges -- climate change being the most obvious -- still require national and state policies to help drive effective responses. But these responses must be rooted in actual places where real people are going about their lives. The hard work of changing the behaviors of individuals and institutions must be done close to the ground where context matters. Oberlin occupies a perfect scale in this work: small enough to regularly connect with key decision-makers, yet large enough to provide meaningful lessons for larger communities. And I am particularly excited that Oberlin is situated in America's industrial heartland, the so-called Rust Belt where proof of concept can be really powerful.</p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>How has your background prepared you for this job?</strong></p> <p>Even in a smaller community, sustainability involves an amazingly complex mix of issues and perspectives. In this project, a varied background can be an asset. I worked for more than ten years as an environmental advocate in the non-profit sector. Previous jobs included design engineering at a large manufacturing firm and four years in the Navy. My formal education in engineering, business, and public policy reflects a similar variety. All of this has provided great practice in approaching issues from various angles, and learning how to help translate between different points of view.</p> <p><strong>What first got you interested in doing this kind of work?</strong></p> <p>My passion for what people now call sustainability had early roots. I grew up next to a large wooded park in Cincinnati and spent lots of time there as a kid. These and other experiences fed a strong sense of connection to my natural surroundings. Over time, I also developed an uncomfortable awareness that our situation on the planet is precarious. Responding to this concern became the focus of my graduate studies and has remained central to my professional life ever since.</p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>What is your personal definition of sustainability?</strong></p> <p>The term 'sustainability' is famously hard to define at a practical level. I prefer to think of it more as an organizing principle than an endpoint to be described precisely. My favorite statement related to sustainability is Stein's Law, which simply says that if something cannot go on forever, it will stop. Nobody can argue with that. And to me it invokes biophysical limits, too often downplayed in serious discussions about sustainability.</p> <p><strong> </strong><strong>Can you talk about the challenge of becoming climate positive?</strong></p> <p>By joining the Clinton Initiative's Climate Positive Development Program, Oberlin committed to eliminating its carbon footprint by 2050. This is an astounding goal that will require much lower emissions from each sector. An important early step was City Council adopting a long-term Climate Action Plan. In support of this Plan, the municipal utility has already found a way to cut its carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2015. Also, the College is well underway to becoming net zero by 2025. We should celebrate these milestones and tell others about them. At the same time, we need to focus on integrating carbon reduction into the decision-making DNA of local institutions. Achieving that is the key to reaching our ultimate goal of climate neutrality.</p> <p><strong>How do you keep from getting overwhelmed by all of the interconnected issues of sustainability?</strong></p> <p>Sustainability is inherently complex. It touches on every major aspect of how a community operates and plans for the future. As with any real-world enterprise, the Oberlin Project has limited time and resources. We need to resist the very legitimate pull to work on all issues at once, or we will not be effective. We take a strategic approach to identify areas that can benefit most from the leverage we bring. For example, one area of focus is expanding Oberlin's local food economy. We saw an opportunity to borrow heavily from the previous work of Brad Masi and others who have already charted a viable path to increase local food consumption from 6 percent to 70 percent. The Oberlin Project is well positioned to help support and connect existing local food efforts, and bring new voices to the table as needed. In this way we act as a catalyst where we can have the greatest impact.</p> <div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Pastor Andy Call</h1> <p>2013-10-15T13:50:43+00:00</p> <p><i>Andy Call is Pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Oberlin. He moved to Oberlin in Summer 2012 with his wife and their three children. Andy is enthusiastic about the renovations at FUMC, especially the improved children’s classrooms. He says, “It’s an exciting project because it will provide a safe, clean environment for children to be and we are doing it in a way that we think is responsible with the resources we have.” </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Progressive. I think of us being a progressive community in many ways, not just in terms of political but also in terms of being on the new edge, on the leading edge of thinking of alternative ways of living in many ways that other communities would find to be countercultural.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life, what would that be?</strong></p> <p>A: I think of sustainability as ongoing existence, whether we talk about it from an economic sustainability or an environmental or planning sustainability, the idea that we don’t have an unlimited life span, we don’t use resources in a way that will cause those resources to run out, we use resources in a way that is understood to be renewable and ongoing.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainable life choices or living, either in your home life or the life of the congregation? </strong></p> <p>A: We talk about environmental sustainability. Rather than trying to find a way to filter out the water that comes through our system or having people buy bottles of water, we have a couple jugs of water, we take them regularly up to one of the nearby natural springs and refill them. We think that is a good model because it is healthy and it’s reusing resources that are plentiful. When we decided to start this coffee project that we are running when students are on campus, we intentionally made an effort to use local resources. So we work with the Oberlin Market, organic fair trade coffee, same with sugar and cream and tea, we get that fair trade as well. As we start new projects we think about environmental sustainability and healthy systems that help people to be healthy in interactions with each other and with their environment.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel these actions are important?</strong></p> <p>A: I think it’s important for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s just good stewardship. Stewardship is a word that we use in faith communities a lot. We understand our role in this world not as owners of creation or as masters of creation in any way, but to say that God has entrusted us with this creation and we are responsible to take care of it. So in terms of good stewardship, we believe in using products that are organic or are renewable or don’t pollute the environment. It’s also a good thing in terms of what we model as a faith community-- we can share that with the people that come through the doors, whether they are ongoing members of the church or just people who come and visit. We have a chance to share a message with them: “these are values that we embody and we hope that you will as well,” without being prescriptive about that and telling people what they ought to do or how they ought to live. We just think being a good model of that is responsible as a faith community.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment?</strong></p> <p>A: I’m not big on making speeches, other than just to say be aware. Awareness is the first issue in recognizing that none of this is on a permanent basis. All of the resources that we draw from the earth and others around us, there is no guarantee that they will always be here. Just being aware of how we use things and being responsible as much as we can be. I hope we are starting to be more aware of those things and Oberlin is certainly way ahead of the curve in terms of most communities. We think of resources often as financial resources first and think about other impacts second. It’s said that we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. We really would do better if we stopped worrying about cost and started thinking about overall impact. Cost is certainly a factor, but it can’t be the only determining factor of something’s value. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Barbara Fuchsman</h1> <p>2013-10-11T19:17:51+00:00</p> <p><i>Barbara Fuchsman has been an Oberlin resident for 43 years. She is a layperson at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She works closely with the Santa Elena Project that supports human rights for workers in Guatemala. She enjoys gardening with her husband. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: One word I use is “oasis.” Oberlin is an oasis of liberal thinking. I do think Oberlin has got wonderful people and it’s a wonderful, warm place to live. </p> <p><strong>Q: How is it you came to live in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: My husband succeeded in obtaining a job and we were quite happy to come here. I went to a small college myself and I had been a trapped housewife in suburbia with no car, so I thought it was amazing to come here and walk places and people were friendly.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life and perhaps for the life of the Unitarian congregation in Oberlin, how would you do that? </strong></p> <p>A: Something that is sustainable is something you can keep on dong for as long as you want to and you won’t be prevented by a lack of resources or you won’t be destroying the environment around you.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you speak to actions you take in your own life that relate to sustainability or in the life of the [Unitarian Universalist] Fellowship?</strong></p> <p>A: My husband and I enjoy gardening and we have a big compost pile that we use to improve our soil. When the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship began our work to become more sustainable, Cindy Frantz created a survey, which we all took, which gave us a gauge of how we as members were helping to live sustainable lifestyles. We took this survey as individuals, and then we made commitments, then filled out the survey later to see improvement as a congregation. The Fellowship has been certified as a Green Sanctuary Congregation. We have bought a building just this last year, so we have an awful lot to do because it’s expensive initially. It takes capital to put on a green roof, to insulate, to put a solar panel on the roof. Over the last few years we have been concerned about ethical eating, and now we have to be concerned about the building. We are talking about sponsoring a homemade, local foods exchange. We are creating a garden. There’s a narrow area between us and Computers Unlimited that we have taken up to clean, because there was an abandoned gas well there. We’re putting manure and leaves and developing permaculture. We hope to use it.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel that these actions are important? How does it enrich the life of the congregation, having these considerations?</strong></p> <p>A: I think the garden project is quite important for the neighborhood and in fact plugging the gas well was extraordinarily important. There was a terrible smell and Columbia Gas was trying to blame the gas well. The ODNR came and in a couple days Columbia Gas was digging and they were exposing pipes with huge holes. The whole neighborhood was grateful and it was important. But making a garden here is going to make a big difference. The landscape people thought it would take longer to knock down a screen that made the open space a little bigger. One man had created a beautiful Zen garden that you could see from the road or walking, so people could see it when walking. What a wonderful improvement it was! It is important to the community. Why is it important to be sustainable? If we can recycle, which we are doing, and compost our stuff and try to use energy in the most efficient way, we can make it possible for our grandchildren to still live comfortably, when it comes to it. We are not going to stop Climate change, it’s happening, it’s true.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members about making sustainable life choices or considering care fro the environment as important?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, we are all interconnected and what we do, everything we do impacts back on ourselves. So since we are part of this wonderful interworking web, whatever we do to the web we do to ourselves. So beware. And that’s true socially as well as environmentally, and we need to realize that. If we do something destructive to others, it will come back in various ways to find me, and that’s certainly true in the environment. It’s part of Unitarian Universalism, that we are part of an interconnected web, which we know we are, and it does have huge implications.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Amanda Schmidt</h1> <p>2013-09-26T19:39:02+00:00</p> <p><i>Amanda Schmidt has lived in Oberlin since 2011. She is Assistant Professor of Geology at Oberlin College and is active with the local Baha’i community. She studies human-landscape interactions, primarily in China and enjoys traveling with her 8-month-old son Colby. Amanda and her husband are competitive mountain bikers </i><i>and race locally in mountain bike and cyclocross races.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong><br> A: I guess Oberlin reminds me of a friendly New England college town. I went to grad school in the northwest and there aren’t towns like this. Definitely friendly, and it’s kind of an eccentric town. Very accessible.</p> <p><strong>Q: Would you care to elaborate?</strong></p> <p>A: We talk a lot about how Oberlin is very walkable, we can walk from our house to downtown, I walk to my office. There are no chain restaurants. There are always locally owned restaurants and businesses and good options of places to eat and we don’t feel confined. Yes, we are close to Cleveland but we don’t go in to Cleveland to do things. This is really a nice vibrant community to live in. People are welcoming.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life and perhaps for the Baha’i community in Oberlin, how would you do that?</strong></p> <p>A: We have general things like “you should be kind to all creatures.” `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the faith, talks about in the future having small almost local agriculture based, we’re going to be in small communities and eating things from the surrounding areas. We talk a lot about being sustainable with human resources, and having our actions, the activities that we start and the activities that we participate in be things that we can maintain with the people in our community. What can do to train people to do things that are within our capacity within this community? In terms of our family, my husband and I try to make decisions that minimize our use of resources. We chose to buy a diesel car over the summer, knowing that he’s commuting and knowing for highway miles it’s better than the Prius. We use cloth diapers on our baby; we don’t keep the house too hot and not too cold in the summer.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel these actions are important?</strong></p> <p>A: I think I’ve realized that I really care about the environment. Like, I really care. I have become a lot more passionate about alternative energy because you can’t just tell someone to put on a sweater or get a blanket or just wear a tank top in the summer, because I really care and I still have my heat at 68 because I have a baby. It’s the same with the cloth diapers, it’s not that we’re super anal, we use disposable diapers at night, but we don’t use a diaper service, we use cloth diapers that go on and off like regular diapers. We are trying very much to live in a way that is sustainable but I’m doing things that [other people] could imagine doing also.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care fro the environment or making sustainable life decisions?</strong></p> <p>A: I think it often saves money. If you think about what you spend money on, you can be better for the environment AND saving money and that is probably a better incentive than vague, big picture things that don’t hit home to people very well. If you change your heat or put new insulation around your door to fix the draft or keep your door shut, little things, you will reduce your Columbia gas bill by this amount every month. It’s going to make a difference to people. We need to not be ashamed to go with the selfish route. We save a lot of money on diapers; we only spend about $500 up front on cloth diapers, which is about as much as you’d spend in 6 or 8 months with disposable diapers.</p> <p><strong>Q: Do you think about how you will raise your son with concerns for the environment and pass along the passion you have?</strong></p> <p>A: I want a lot of things to just be habit. Growing up in the 80s, it was habit that we never littered. I want my son to grow up thinking, this is the habit that we recycle everything. This is where we take the toilet paper rolls to the recycling not in the trash. We think about the impact of that kind of thing. I hope we involve him in discussions about putting in geothermal heat for the house. And he’ll be going with me for field work in the summer and I hope to be able to continue to take Colby and any future siblings so they can see that what I do is environmentally related. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Kim Koos</h1> <p>2013-09-10T19:03:32+00:00</p> <p><i><i>Kim Koos is a teacher and IB Coordinator at Prospect Elementary School. Aside </i>from her passion for education, she loves spending time with her family, swimming, reading, and gardening. She is also very artistic and loves to create items in various mediums.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What are some words that come to mind when you think of Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: The thing that appealed to me most about Oberlin when I came here was that I felt welcomed. It has that small-town feeling, but there are people who are progressive and want to move forward as well – it’s not a typical small-town community…at all. You never know what’s going to be around any corner, it’s never boring. And I think it would be really easy in a college town to get wrapped up with all the hoopla and growth and big-city thinking, but my favorite part of the “town-and-gown” is the amount of college volunteers.</p> <p><strong>Q: How would you define the word “sustainability” as it relates to Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: When I think of sustainability, I think of being caregivers of our earth, of our planet, our home. In the broadest sense of the word, we are given this space and we’re all on borrowed time. If we want this space to be ours for our children and our grandchildren down the road, we need to do the right things and make the right choices that will allow us continue to have resources and the things we enjoy now for those generations to come.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you try to move forward with sustainability as a teacher?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, we do a lot of small things, you know - the kids are in charge of taking the recycling out. The kids actually one year wrote a letter to the school board because they wanted some changes made in the cafeteria. They were very interested in the school making choices that were environmentally friendly and it was empowering for them to write that letter and get a response. We use more environmentally friendly cleaning products, recycled toilet paper...and we talk about those things with the kids.</p> <p><strong>Q: And what do you do in your personal life to move towards sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: We’ve done a lot of things around the house, installed a rain barrel to help with the garden, installed rain chains at the gutters, and replaced our old light bulbs and appliances. We’re also careful about choosing eco-friendly pains and cleaning products in our home. We donate a lot of things to Goodwill. And I have an herb garden that saves me some money from buying herbs. I’ve been replacing any annual plants in the garden with perennials- they’re like a present every year- they just keep growing up bigger and I can split them up and give them to friends.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything that you’d like to tell the rest of the Oberlin Community about sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, my first thought goes to Prospect because that’s where I spend a lot of my time. And there have been so many people in the community who have been so thoughtful with their recycling. Sometimes when offices close, they’ll bring over tons of stuff-office supplies – pens, pencils, labels. We’ve gotten national geographic, maps, Chinese and Japanese artifacts that someone weeded out of their own collection. So now we have those things that kids would otherwise never have the hands-on ability to experience those things.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you talk about your interaction with the Environmental Dashboard?</strong></p> <p>A: Every visitor we’ve had all come in and ask “what’s that?” – They all want to know about it, and they’re very jealous because they also see the possibilities of what we can do with it. And when you talk about 21st century skills, these are the things that kids need to know how to understand. As they can gather data from it, record data and interpret data, that will be a very important tool.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Greg Jones</h1> <p>2013-09-03T20:24:33+00:00</p> <p><i></i><i>Gregory Jones is Oberlin’s Energy Advocate, part of POWER’s initiative to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency. In his free time, Greg enjoys fishing and is a self-proclaimed ‘sports nut.’ Cleveland teams, all the way.</i><i> </i></p> <p><strong>What are some words or images that come to mind when you think of Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>Oh, when I think of Oberlin, I think of a close-knit eco-friendly community, right off the bat. They’re energy conscious, but not just energy conscious- they’re eco-conscious. And that’s one of the reasons why I love working here. Also, maybe from the outside looking in, I can appreciate that strong community aspect. You can have the privilege of knowing your neighbors and knowing the neighborhood kids. This community offers you a lot of diversity, freedom, and a good interaction between the youth and the seniors.</p> <p><strong>So how did you come to work in Oberlin as the POWER Energy Advocate?</strong></p> <p>I bugged the heck out of them. As soon as I heard that this position was being thought about and created, I let everyone know that they could get no one better to do the job and that’s what I told them and that’s how it came to be. This was a perfect fit for me.</p> <p><strong>And what’s it been like getting to know the Oberlin community through this job?</strong></p> <p>It’s been a pleasure, it’s been a real pleasure, it’s been everything I envisioned, and more, and it continues to evolve. As POWER expands, it expands in areas that I wanted to expand in my own business and my own growth - in energy efficiency and water efficiency, carbon neutrality - all these are things that I’ve studied and wanted to be involved in. Oberlin presents me that opportunity. So it’s not just a job, 9-5, I kind of live it and breathe it.</p> <p><strong>Can you explain what you do as an Energy Advocate?</strong></p> <p>As an energy advocate I do a first-step walkthrough of a home. I visually go through a residence and find inadequacies in insulation levels and poorly functioning heating and cooling equiptment. We look for different ways to be more efficient in the home through light bulbs, low-flow water fixtures and aerators on sinks. Then I match the homeowner up with existing programs that can help make the adjustments to that individual’s home at no, or very low, cost to them. And that’s another something that’s unique to Oberlin- no one else in the county has an Energy Advocate, and maybe there’s only a few of us in the country, to tell you the truth. So it makes Oberlin unique in having someone to focus on that, for their residents. And it’s really for the whole community’s use.</p> <p><strong>Have you experienced any mistrust or hesitancy from Oberlin residents about receiving walk-throughs?</strong></p> <p>Well, first of all, there’s always a certain amount of mistrust when an unfamiliar man comes to the door. I think my life experiences has made me more comfortable watering down that initial animosity, with a smile, with a hello. So, with that in mind, there’s really been, here, no barriers, no apprehension. and it’s BECAUSE of this community. Even the ones who aren’t into energy efficiency, or sustainability, you cannot help but know about it in this community because thats what this community revolves around. So, me saying I’m POWER, or energy efficiency, or sustainability, it’s not as foreign as it might be in another area.</p> <p><strong>Is there anything that everyone in Oberlin could do to right-off-the-bat improve their home’s energy efficiency?</strong></p> <p>Caulk and Air Sealing. Every house in Oberlin could use caulking, air sealing, and insulation. If every house in Oberlin did that, it would make a SIGNIFICANT difference. And thats something YOU can do. Get a tube of caulk and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Insulation is another thing you can do on your own. But, I mean, the easiest way to do ALL of that here in Oberlin, is to <i>call me</i>, and then have the professionals come out and do it for little or no cost- that’s the whole point of the program. It’s that easy, but the problem is getting people to call.</p> <p><strong>People use the word “Sustainability” to mean a lot of things, what does it mean to you?</strong></p> <p>It runs the same gamut as ecoefficiency, those are the new buzzwords for the eco-friendly bunch. But sustainability is just to be able to maintain something however you want it to be.</p> <p><strong>And how do you feel you contribute to sustainability in your personal life?</strong></p> <p>Doing what I’m doing with POWER, trying to sustain a energy-efficient portfolio for the entire community, which is what I beleive the entire idea is with POWER. I can envision other cities starting to operate their own grid power, like here in Oberlin, so that more communities become sustainable in their own right. I think that’s the ideal picture of where we want to go as people in this country.</p> <p>In this kind of community, it could be really easy to think that everything is okay. Around you, all hell is breaking loose, but you don’t see it because you’re good right here. But things have to change, you cannot just stay. If you don’t change, you become a dinosaur, and dinosaurs get extinct. Earth renews itself, just like we have the power to renew ourselves. Anytime we’ve faced a challenge that’s this monumental, we’ve come up with a solution. So it’s not beyond us to create what we need to create, it’s just having cooperation and understanding from all parties involved to say “this is what we need to do,” and get it done.</p> <p><strong>What do you think about the Environmental Dashboard as a tool for promoting resource awareness? </strong></p> <p>I think it’s a great tool, I think it should be expanded more. I think it should be put up at both ways coming into Oberlin. I mean it, you come into Oberlin, you see Environmental Dashboard, you know what we’re about. That in itself is going to bring some people with that mindset here, and when you have like minds in a like place, you make great things happen.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Dori Tiller and Shelley Clagg</h1> <p>2013-08-21T20:20:25+00:00</p> <p><i>Dori Tiller and Shelley Clagg are committed residents at John Frederick Oberlin (JFO) Homes who put together a recycling program at the John Frederick Oberlin (JFO) apartment complex. For both of them, recycling and reusing have come to feel very natural, and they are working hard to share this spirit with other members of the Oberlin community.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What are some words or images that come to mind when describing Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>Dori: Oberlin is the obvious college town. Not that it’s bad, because I think the college is a good thing in the town.</p> <p>Shelly: When I think of Oberlin I think of when I was a kid coming into Tappan Square and seeing the squirrels, and now that I live here seeing the squirrels all the time. So to me, Oberlin has always had a little touch of nature and always had that little touch of being connected to things differently. Oberlin is more progressive I think.</p> <p><strong>Q: How long have you been here?</strong></p> <p>Dori: All except two years now since 1969. So 40 some years.</p> <p>Shelly: I’ve lived in Oberlin proper for three years, and just outside Oberlin two and a half years prior to that. And I lived in Wakeman growing up, so it was close.</p> <p><strong>Q: The Oberlin Project and many others talk about the word ‘sustainability’ simultaneously in an environmental, economic, and social sense. How would you define sustainability for yourselves?</strong></p> <p>Shelly: I think sustainability has to combine all three, because all three interact with each other.</p> <p>Dori: You don’t use up everything. Keep remaking and keep reusing over and over and over again, so the Earth doesn’t run out.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you talk about some of the sustainable action you’re taking here at JFO and in your own lives?</strong></p> <p>Shelly: Well I know that we’ve done a few times, with our craft day, encouraging people to bring a plastic bottle or something and decorate it and use it to collect the box tops for the schools, so they have something real pretty. Or they could use it as a homemade piggy bank. A couple people I think popped the lids off and made pencil holders.</p> <p>Dori: Personally, we reuse as much as we possibly can. I’ve got two totes of used jeans from my son-in-law who is 6’6’’ and I made my grandkids backpacks out of those jeans, and this is the third year they’re using them. We’re just all on the same program to use everything that you can; a lot of things can be used two or three or four times.</p> <p>Shelly: She takes her granddaughter’s mismatched socks and makes cat toys. I did something one year...I make dream catchers as a hobby and I’ve kind of expanded on that and call them “theme catchers.” And so I took a hoop, and I found a bunch of string...and had hanging off of it various items that I found literally in the trash.</p> <p><strong>Q: So you’ve both been doing these kind of things before?</strong></p> <p>Dori: Oh yeah, even when I had my home outside of town I took things to BFI myself. Then when I moved into the apartment, I had in my closet a recycling bin. It was just natural for me. Today I look for metal in the dumpster, and the maintenance people here when they get a large amount of metal, they’ll let me know. I give it to my daughter and my son-in-law and they take it to the scrapyard. It gets the metal out of the landfill. We found a little kids wagon, filled it with dirt, put it out front, and put flowers in it.</p> <p>Shelly: And we took a mattress frame and put it by our sign, hung milk jugs and coffee cans, and planted flowers in those.</p> <p>Dori: The best one was the potty chair. I was at a garage sale down in Wellington and they had this potty chair, it was an old potty chair that had been painted I don’t know how many times. Paint coming off of it, really looked bad. And I asked the woman, “how much you selling that for?” And she says “No, no, nobody’s gonna want that.” I said, “I’ll give you two bucks for it.” So I took it and I put it out by the front and I planted flowers in it. And everybody loved it! They just thought it was great.</p> <p>Shelly: And we used the five gallon paint buckets, and filled them up...And the only complaint we heard was that we didn’t paint the buckets. But we didn’t want to! We wanted to show that they were used paint buckets.</p> <p>Dori: And the little shelf on the side of the cabinet in there we found in the dumpster. We opened up a little shop in here, and we use the shelf now to help display our items for the open store. I took it upstairs, I cleaned it - it looks almost brand new!</p> <p><strong>Q: When did you start doing the recycling program at JFO?</strong></p> <p>Dori: It was last year that we went full swing. And it’s come second nature to us. I mean, we have about half of our residents recycling now. We’re getting more and more and more. And we’ve expanded ‘cause now we’ve got a bin on top of the rack that we collect plastic bags in. We take them down to WalMart and recycle those. We started out with one bin for plastics. Now we have two bins and we’re thinking we might need a third one. We took 2100 pounds of paper last year to Prospect school. It is just a natural thing to do.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Fr. Robert Cole</h1> <p>2013-08-14T19:25:58+00:00</p> <p><i>Fr. Robert Cole has been Pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oberlin for 5 years. Born and bred in the Cleveland area, he is glad to be serving several churches in the Cleveland Diocese. Fr. Cole has been a priest for 41 years.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Unique….Period. (laughs)</p> <p><strong>Q: Would you care to explain that further?</strong></p> <p>A: It certainly is a very progressive, whether that means liberalism or great pride, or whether it stands out. It certainly is ahead of many communities, whether it is environmental issues or social justice issues.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life and perhaps for the life of your congregation, how would you do that?</strong></p> <p>A: Sustainability, I would see it in terms of making healthy actions today that provide for a wholesome tomorrow. To build for the future, to build on what you have, to build a healthy tomorrow for your church or community or organization. Always acting today in light of what’s coming tomorrow.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you or your congregation that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: We are a church so we are interested in preserving and professing our faith. We are trying to ensure the strength of our community. There has been a Sacred Heart church here for 115 years and want to make sure it’s there for another 215 or 315. We are involved in sustaining our faith community, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel that we have obligations to the community itself, the wider community than the Catholic community. We have three recycling bins on the property, we encourage people to do that, we encourage them to be environmentally conscious.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or making sustainable life choices?</strong></p> <p>A: Are people part of the environment? We should be asking these questions. We can be all concerned about Mother Earth and all that goes with it, but if we are not concerned about taking care of human beings we are missing the point. If we are just saving the planet, we should just blow ourselves to the moon and the planet will be fine and there won’t be any people around and we’ll save the planet. The planet is not as important as the people.<i> </i>Our focus has to be on people. Our concern is life issues, people issues. There is a spark of God in all of us and we need to respect that.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Chuck Annable</h1> <p>2013-08-07T20:15:18+00:00</p> <p><i>Chuck Annable was the </i><i>President/Horticulturist at Green Side Up Garden Center. He recently sold it to his employees. He is an avid traveler and has visited 49 of the 50 United States. He loves to hike, canoe, and explore natural areas. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: How did you come to own Green Side Up Garden Center?</strong></p> <p>A: Well I was born in Oberlin, so I’m a long-time resident. I studied horticulture and environmental studies in college. I did that for about 12 years, then we had kids and I bought the video store downtown- did that for about 13 years, now I’m back in horticulture. The business was started by the Locke family in 1946. When the second generation was ready to retire, they decided to find someone to take it on. I was happy to do that until I realized how much work it was and my wife retired encouraging me to join her. We added The Green Side Up part and kept the Locke’s name out of respect. So far it is still called Locke’s Green Side Up.</p> <p><strong>Q: When you think about Oberlin, what words or images come to mind?</strong></p> <p>A: I love and hate Oberlin as a businessperson. It’s comfortable for me, so I guess “home”- it’s home. It’s interesting to think about Oberlin when you’re away and what you miss about it. For instance, this morning I had coffee in Slow Train and I saw maybe a dozen people that I could have had conversations with. It is an interesting and pleasant place to live and raise children.</p> <p><strong>Q: People have been using the word “sustainability” more and more to mean anything from political, social or environmental well-being- what’s your personal definition of “sustainability?”</strong></p> <p>A: Well, see I have issues with it. Because I was born into a family of outdoors people and that term did not exist when I was a kid- the term we used was “conservation.” And that meant to love, appreciate, and use nature wisely, so that’s basically what I think “sustainability” is. I’m glad people are coming around to it, I came to a point in my life where I needed to make a living, and I found a way to do that through a green business. There’s the extreme “earth first” point of view, but then you have to figure out how you are going to <i>live </i>in the world and make a living. People look at me and think, “oh, he’s a businessman.” but I’ve always tried to be a businessman in a green sort of way. I think what I do is really sustainable; I’ve never been extravagant. And on an individual basis, I think we helped a lot of people in this town to become better gardeners.</p> <p><strong>Q: So you’ve been talking about what makes Green Side Up conservation-oriented…is there anything that you do in your personal life to support the Oberlin community?</strong></p> <p>A: I’ve been on a lot of boards of nonprofits here in Oberlin, just trying to help people do things that are good for the community. I’ve been on the Oberlin History Center board, the Oberlin Community Improvement Corporation, The Bill Long Foundation and Workshop Players boards for example. We’re pretty involved in the school system with theater and band boosters.</p> <p><strong>Q: Why do you think it’s so important to be involved in those ways?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, I mean, we just live here, and we’re involved whether we want to be or not. I can’t say I do it for any altruistic reason- it’s just because we’re here and that’s what we do.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell people in Oberlin about sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: I just wish that everyone would take care of their selves first - If everyone could do the best they can for their situation. I think people need to look in the mirror and just do everything they personally can first and decide about how they’re going to use cars and resources and stuff like that. There needs to be an understanding of how to encourage nature, and allow nature, and do more personally to make a healthy environment. Green Side Up is here as a resource, and I wish more people would take advantage of the resources available in Oberlin. So I’m just trying to enjoy our natural environments, kind of quietly. I don’t really have an axe to grind, teaching people about nature…I just sort of want them to find their own reason to come to it, enjoy it, protect it, and conserve it.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - David Snyder</h1> <p>2013-07-31T17:16:18+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 5px; float: left; display: inline-table;"><em><strong><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16</span></strong></em></span>David Snyder has been a resident of Oberlin since 2006. He serves as the Clerk of the Oberlin Friends Meeting. David has long engaged in environmental activism and shared that he inspired his parents to get involved in the nuclear freeze movement in the 1970s.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Progressive. Cutting edge, in some ways, in terms of efforts towards meaningful sustainability and the infrastructure to support that. I’m involved with two nonprofits outside of the friends meeting that are actors in the Oberlin Project effort. I am aware that there are things happening in this community that are connected to the climate initiative.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How would you define sustainability for your own life and the life of your congregation?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think of it mostly in terms of having minimal impact on natural systems, minimal reliance on resources that are finite and dwindling.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: On a personal level we spend a lot of time, effort and money on having our home be as efficient as possible. The two local nonprofits I’m involved with are concerned with local sustainable agriculture and food access and increasing the efficiency of low-income homeowners’ homes. With the [Oberlin Friends] Meeting, there have been various interest groups within the meeting, folks sharing information about living with a lighter footprint.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How do you feel these actions are important?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: The average citizen of the US consumes a hugely disproportionate share of the world’s resources and it seems morally imperative to rejigger that in important ways.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment and making sustainable life choices?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think as much as anything there are all kinds of levels of decisions. I am aware that an awful lot resides in people’s behavioral patterns and awareness of “gee, if I did this, I could lower my monthly electric bill by five dollars.” My wife and I have done an experiment the last couple months of turning off the power strip to the TV and the stereo when it’s not in use. That’s actually something she suggested; I usually am the instigator. It wasn’t until Cindy Frantz wrote an editorial that said that turning on hot water in any sink in the house to wash your hands only gives the hot water heater the “start up” message when by the time you finish washing your hands the hot water probably won’t even have arrived at the sink. I told my wife that for some time, but it was hearing it from somewhere else that did it. “Oh, I’ve heard that before.” So those behavioral things are significant but also pay focused attention to what you do because we all have habits that should change.</p> <p><strong>Q: Are there people or things that inspire you to have developed these habits?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I’m a tightwad by nature, in a good way, I hope. I’ve always just thought back to the early days of the environmental movement in the 70s, when we developed habits and awareness, many of which have stayed with us.</p> <p><strong>Q: So what sort of environmental stuff were you doing in the early 70s that got you thinking this way?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Well, we have a wood stove that we’ve kept during all our moves from place to place. The wood stove was part of the first oil crunch. I think it came out of that awareness that we need not rely on centralized utilities for power. Wood heat is not without its problems, but as Carl McDaniel would say, “It’s a hundred year carbon cycle rather than a multimillion year carbon cycle.” A lot of what we burn I pick up on the curb when there’s been a windstorm and when people put their tree limbs on the side of the street for the city to pick up. And there was an important mentor of mine, they had built a cedar house outside of town where they would heat with wood.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Che Gonzalez</h1> <p>2013-07-22T17:50:10+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 5px; float: left; display: inline-table;"><em><strong><span style="text-align: center; display: block;">Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16</span></strong></em></span>Oberlin resident Che Gonzalez is a librarian at the Oberlin Public Library. A few years ago, she started a home-based business for affordable, healthy foods. Gardening since she was a kid, Ms. Gonzalez grows many of her own vegetables at home.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Some people think of “sustainability” as actions that improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the community? How would you define “sustainability” for yourself?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: Sustainability to me is a lifestyle. I grew up in a community of people who worked and played together. Families grew and preserved their own food and shared with one another. My father planted fruit trees and every year, at least three vegetable gardens. I remember picking blackberries all day long in what we called “the orchard”. Someone, long ago, planted fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries on this land not far from our house; my mom made blackberry preserves and blackberry pies. We didn’t have a smokehouse; but there was a family on the next street that raised chickens. Folks had food in their yards, even in the city limits. My relatives had concord grapes, cherry, mulberry, apple, and pear trees. In that lifestyle people were so much kinder to each other – neighbors visited more often. Yeah, folks sat on their front porches until nightfall – community.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: What actions and practices in your recent life do you feel are sustainable?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I had a home-based business, and still do, sort of. I made raw vegan cheesecake out of cashews and coconut oil. I planted food that was used for the vegan snacks that I sold. The effort I put into the planting and harvesting was more cost effective when compared to bulk purchases of these items at the food terminal in Cleveland. And I did not use pesticides in my garden – my produce was organic from heirloom seeds. Thus, I was able to keep production costs down.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: Do you have any specific messages you would like to tell other community members about sustainable living and care for the environment?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: We can’t leave the world in a mess for our children to clean up. Now is the time to share our experiences and to teach by example. The process starts with each individual, one person at a time. Everyone can’t or won’t attend meetings about because they may not understand how the lifestyle can benefit them – all they see are tax increases.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Q: How do you think that reversal can happen?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: I think educating the public is the most important part. As a result of school programming, many families are educated by their children. I was didn’t understand what all the “hoopla” was about until I attended an Oberlin Project meeting; then I thought, “Oh, okay this is gonna work for the whole village.”</p> <p><strong>Q: We’re talking a lot about the word “sustainability.” Are there other words you personally think of when you think of connection with the Earth or being engaged in a vibrant community?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">A: It’s returning to Eden, going back to the old ways. I look at the Walton’s on television …the way people lived. Life seemed so simplistic in the 1930s. We need to be conscientious of the effects of our actions on other people, socially, physically, and economically. Just simplifying your life.</p> <p> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Anita Lock</h1> <p>2013-07-17T17:19:17+00:00</p> <p><i>Mrs. Anita Lock has lived in Oberlin for 10 years. After visiting Oberlin when she was 15 and getting a flavor of the community, she thought, “I hope someday I’ll live here.” She is the proprietor of One-On-One Tutoring of Lorain County and is a music educator. Mrs. Lock also hosts “All Things Irish,” which airs on WOBC 91.5 FM every Saturday from 4-5pm.</i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Progressive.</p> <p><strong>Q: Would you care to explain that a little more?</strong></p> <p>A: I believe that many of the people in the community and college work together to try to bring in the best means into the community, that could be ways of respect, that could be in ways of caring for the earth. They are very hopeful about it. It’s not just a matter of being vocal, but they act on it too.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life, how would you do that? </strong></p> <p>A: Working locally. Working together as a community. Pulling from our own resources and there’s just a lot right there. Anything can happen on a local level if we want to make it happen. But we have to want to do that. So it’s possible.</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you personally engaged in that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p>A: I have been practicing whole foods for over thirty years. I try to buy organic as much as I can, I try to buy locally as much as I can. I compost and we started a garden. There are so many various things that I have built up over the years and I am really just trying to keep up with that. I try to set an example by setting a pace for other people - teach people who might not be aware of whole foods and sustainability, and that there is a better way to eat and live.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel that these actions are important?</strong></p> <p>A: It helps to sustain life and helps to sustain community. We only have one chance in this life and we should make the best of it. It shouldn’t be about living for us, it should be about reaching out to others. If I have an opportunity to be a blessing to others, and tell them about things they can do to make their life better and lives better for other people, then I will.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything that you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment and sustainable living choices?</strong></p> <p>A: First off, always think about others. Any actions that you do, whether it’s your eating or whatever you’re doing, it is going to affect another person. Always think about others first, don’t think about what it’s going to do for me, but how will this affect another person?</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Valerie Hardnett</h1> <p>2013-06-17T19:10:53+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Words to describe Oberlin.</strong></p> <p>Diverse, unique, different, different perspectives religions and people, traditional</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>When did you come to Oberlin? Why?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">She has been in Oberlin for 7 years. Wanted to bring her daughter to school here.</p> <p><strong>What is your definition of Sustainability?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">SPE - spiritually, physically, and economically.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sustainability to me means keeping your resources. Because we’re in trouble. Cause we run out of resources - water, electricity. Sustaining everything. Use it in a productive way. Don’t use all your resources all at once.</p> <p dir="ltr"> <strong>Why is sustainability important to you?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">“For one reason, It’s good for your health. Two, less cars. I mean, Oberlin’s so small that you don’t need to drive your car to IGA. You don’t need to drive your car to the library. I mean seriously. Also the cost of oil to place into your car - that’s another issue. And also pollution in the air...All those components work together. So I think more people need to walk or take different forms of transportation.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How would you communicate that to other people?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think that our society resists change. But change is part of the environment. If you want the environment to survive in the future for yourself and for my grandchildren, we have to change our way that we live our lives. And to protect the environment, because it’s our responsibility too.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What motivated you to start thinking this way?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Well, I don’t have a car and haven’t had a car in the last ten years (laughs), so it’s part of my life. And I think with me it was more health reasons than anything. Cause 4 years ago I couldn’t walk. I was a hundred pounds larger than this...It was time for me to change my way of living - jump on my bike, walk everywhere. So it’s my way of life. I have always walked or rode a bike to get where I need to go...</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Specific messages for other community members?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">SPE (spiritual, physical, and economical). Fitness is very important.</p> <p dir="ltr">If you have a neighbor next door that’s going to the store, take that person to the store too...</p> <p dir="ltr">Exercise and riding your bike is very spiritual. You’re getting close to nature. Oh I love nature, oh my goodness, I love nature. It’s beautiful! The fresh air into your body. So it all works together...We’re talking about obesity right now, right? So it all works hand-in-hand together.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sustainability is using less as much as you can.</p> <p dir="ltr">I come home and the house is lit up, I’m all ‘Why you have several lights on? You only need one on.’ [laughs]</p> <p dir="ltr">Instead of taking a 30 minute shower take a 5 minute shower...</p> <p dir="ltr">Recycle.</p> <p dir="ltr">I think maybe during the summer time once a month, they could...do a bike fair, put on a bike relay in Oberlin. Get everyone involved with this, explain what are you guys doing. So everyone in the community feels part of something. You could have a bike relay with the children, go on the bike path for maybe 5 or 6 miles, explain why it’s good to do sustainability and exercise. I mean they need to do something to get everyone involved, to understand where they’re going. Right, I think maybe like a picnic or something...</p> <p dir="ltr">[<strong>Asked about the Environmental Dashboard - located at Oberlin Public Library, Slow Train Cafe, and Prospect School</strong>]</p> <p dir="ltr">Oh yeah I read those, I read everything. I think they’re informative, giving information.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - John and Anne Elder</h1> <p>2013-06-07T17:24:14+00:00</p> <p><i>John and Anne Elder are residents of Kendal at Oberlin. John served as Pastor of </i><i>the First Church in Oberlin UCC from 1973 to 1991. </i><i>Anne was a Supervisor in the Lorain City Schools from 1973 to 1991. John enjoys papermaking, printmaking and watercolors. Anne is a Court Appointed Special Assistant to advocate for children in the court system. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>Anne Elder: I was on the [Community Engagement Team for the Oberlin Project] and the first question and all the people that were on the survey was a one word description of Oberlin. And my job this past week was to go over everybody’s responses and look at all the one words and choose five to suggest Oberlin. So I have been looking at A LOT of one word descriptions of Oberlin, and fearless and weird did not come up [laughs].</p> <p>John Elder: The Kendal word tends to be something like “stimulate.”</p> <p>AE: The largest one was “home,” which I was very intrigued – and then was “welcoming,” and then was “engaged.”</p> <p><strong>Q: How did you come to live in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>AE: Because I went to college here and then my husband came back to work so I came with him – so we happen to live here.</p> <p>JE: My father taught in the college for two years before I was born. We come through Oberlin every summer on vacation and so I was imprinted with Oberlin. You say college? I say Oberlin. And so I don’t think I ever followed through with an application other than Oberlin.</p> <p><strong>Q: But, well, if you had to define sustainability for your own life, what would that be? </strong></p> <p>AE: It would mean using as much of the earth’s resources as I need, and not to excess…mostly just not overusing the resources.</p> <p>JE: It would be nice if we could even <i>enhance </i>the resources so future generations would have a better planet.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you describe any actions that you, personally in your own home, or also in the wider Kendal community are taking, that relate to sustainability?</strong></p> <p>JE: We work hard on the environmental community to help people, to be conscious and helpful as possible, but there are limits, you have less control over your total community than you have as an individual.</p> <p>AE: We use our bicycles whenever we can, and that’s mostly depending on the weather. And we had our Martin Luther King project this week. We went over to the Boys and Girls Club on Pleasant Street. I walked through there the other day and there was so much litter as the snow disappears. And we asked them if we came over with garbage bags, if they’d like us to help pick up. And right away, they said, “Sure!” We planned for half an hour on Wednesday, you bring the plastic bags and we’ll take all the kids out. We went, and, kicking and screaming, we got all the kids out, and they had a good time. Half an hour and it looks different. And they just began to see, a lot of interesting things because [the yard] was clear. Then they had to take care of the trash, we separated it so that everybody had a trash bag and a recycling bag, and the recycling we took back to Kendal because Kendal recycles, and we recycled all of those things.</p> <p>JE: Kendal is just beginning the renovation of its original cottages, which will require the updating of the <strong>HDH (?) systems</strong> and the residents are pushing very hard to have geothermal over all of the cottages and I think we will accomplish it but there is some reluctance in some places in the organization.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel these actions are important?</strong></p> <p>AE: Well, again, it goes back to making the planet be safer and to use less of the resources so that there will be things left for our grandchildren and their children.</p> <p>JE: And for the residents, the payback means, lower costs, we have to watch our expenses.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or making sustainable living choices?</strong></p> <p>JE: We should put out more distinct recycling containers. When we visited Japan, if you dropped paper, you’d get scolded. The ethos is so strong, and then you go to other countries where that’s not part of the ethics at all.</p> <p>AE: But I think that because we have so much, excess of everything, everything comes in a bag or a plastic. When we went into the gym today, there were two big mail bags that someone had taken their mail out of and someone had just taken their mail out of and thrown them. But I wonder how long they would have stayed there, and I wondered why somebody would just take their mail and throw it. People are still thinking it’s okay to drop things, I’m finished with this bottle – toss it out. How do you change that?</p> <p>JE: What are we doing? I think that’s the question.</p> <p><strong>Q: Are there things that you think that the country as a whole, or just the city of Oberlin, or just the Dashboard Project, could do to inspire more consciousness or inspire other people to take sustainable actions? How do we change the conversation from throwing things out to recycling and reusing?</strong></p> <p>AE: I meant to bring along that article that we had copied and put up on the board about someone who had gone to the grocery store and gotten a paper bag and put her goods in and the clerk said “well you probably don’t know but we don’t use paper anymore. When you were growing up, you didn’t do green.” And so the woman just said, “yeah, I guess we didn’t do green,” but we always just…we had glass milk bottles that were always recycled, we brought them back, we drove one car, we always put our clothes on the clothesline, didn’t have a clothesdryer, but we didn’t know about green. It was 1930s when we were growing up -- by today’s standards, it would meet all of the sustainability goals. But we didn’t have to plan that, and we weren’t saying we were being green. We did it because there wasn’t an alternative. When you bought something, they didn’t wrap it in puff-balls and when you went to the grocery store, you picked up separate apples – you didn’t have plastic bags of apples and separate things, and your milk was always in a glass bottle, and we didn’t say we were being green. We just need to remember that, sometimes it’s the march of civilization that’s done us in, and do we want to go back? Or do we just want to be much more thoughtful?</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - David Hill</h1> <p>2013-05-20T19:43:34+00:00</p> <p><i>David Hill has been Pastor of First Church in Oberlin UCC for ten years. He serves as President of Oberlin Community Services, a local social services organization. Pastor Hill enjoys integrating music into worship experiences, especially jazz. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: hopeful, engaged, concerned, green, spirited</p> <p><strong>Q: Would you care to explain any particular ones?</strong></p> <p>A: I think it’s hopeful because I think that in Oberlin we believe, rightly or wrongly, not only that we can change our community, but that we can change the world, so we look at problems or concerns and we immediately start thinking about “how can we make a difference?” and we believe we really can. We are concerned because we not only are tuned in to our community but also our nation and our world. We see areas of need and we are aware of them. Green, I don’t know how somebody couldn’t use that word in this town. The Green Arts District, the Oberlin Project, we have very sustainable buildings and sustainable practices. When we have a big event on Tappan Square, we try to compost things and recycle things, it just seems to be a regular part of the conversation. And spirited-there are a lot of folks who belong in faith communities, or who are members of faith communities. There are a lot of other people that may not relate to religious institutions but I think there’s more to it than describing them as just being a good citizen, I think there’s a spiritual element behind why they do what they do and what they choose to be engaged in.</p> <p><strong>Q: How would you define “sustainability” for yourself?</strong></p> <p>A: For me, it has to do with how do we go about our lives and practices in a way that the Earth can sustain, that are not detrimental to the planet which is so absolutely essential to our own personal survival. So, there are big picture things, but the little picture things that most of us are doing,<i> </i>like turning lights off, not leaving the water running, and conserving water in our toilets and our showers, when we buy new appliances, buying energy efficient ones, trying to eat locally, paying more attention to how we use transportation, they really feel like small little things that are barely making a dent, but I think that is what sustainability is for me and for a lot of other folks that are not involved in grander schemes.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is this a word that you would use to describe First Church as a congregation?</strong></p> <p>A: I think we’re working towards that. We have swapped out all the windows in the parlor for windows that not only seal better but are more energy efficient. All of our thermostats are programmable; we don’t use Styrofoam; we serve our Wednesday night suppers family-style on plates that go through the dishwasher. As pastor here one of the main reasons I switched to an iPad is so that when I go into meetings I have no paper, and when I come out of meetings, I have no paper.</p> <p><strong>Q: So how do you feel that these actions are important? What kind of impact are you having?</strong></p> <p>A: I don’t know how much of an impact we are having. But, given this is Oberlin and given the descriptors I used earlier, I guess we have to believe that if everybody did something, it would make a huge difference. I think right now people just do it because they know it’s the right thing to do. For us it’s a faith issue.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the earth or creation or respect for nature?</strong></p> <p>A: How do we make sustainability less scary to folks? We had an energy audit in our house and one thing they helped me with was that I thought that the energy audit was going to show that all of the windows in our house needed to be replaced, but what it really showed was that we needed to do some caulking. I guess I would like to tell folks in Oberlin to not be afraid of this issue, and recognize that the more they know the more they will be empowered to do because it’s not as scary as they might think it is, and [it can be] less expensive. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Midge Brittingham</h1> <p>2013-05-13T15:32:42+00:00</p> <p><i>Midge Brittingham has been a resident of Oberlin since 1969. She is an alumni of Oberlin College, class of 1960, and is the mother of two Oberlin graduates. She served many years with the Oberlin College Alumni Association and is an active layperson at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin. She and her husband Smith enjoy hosting meals for international students at their house each Sunday night. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Diverse. As a person I know who has recently moved to town said, “Oberlin was a community, especially the schools, there are all kinds of people and different ethnic groups and races and different economic backgrounds, all in a small town.”</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life and perhaps for the life of Christ Church’s congregation, how would you do that?</strong></p> <p>A: We want to try and conserve, particularly energy, that’s been our most recent church project, not spend more energy than we can possibly save, so we preserve the balance of nature and the rest of us, who are also part of nature.</p> <p><strong>Q: Are there things that Christ Church is doing to be more “green”?</strong></p> <p>A: We have done some things. We’ve put in new insulation in the church and the parish hall, and new wiring. There is an active group in the vestry that is working on this with our properties. And we educate ourselves, the whole parish does.</p> <p><strong>Q: How do you feel these actions that you yourself or the church are taking are important?</strong></p> <p>A: I think they’re very important, I think we need to keep remembering to think of it, other things get in the way. Money, or lack thereof. Many of these things take more money than we have, though they possibly will save money in the long run. I think that from a spiritual point of view, [there is] the idea of being stewards, don’t tear [the Earth] apart. We also do things like recycling paper and we don’t use Styrofoam cups, and we use fair trade coffee.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you’d like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or making sustainable life choices?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, it seems to be the simple things like recycling, just in your own household, are not followed by everybody. It’s not much of an effort. We have a lot of students that come for our Sunday dinners, so instead of bottled water and soda, we use one of the Soda Club, you put your own gas in the bottles and then the flavor, so a lot of students come in and have never seen this, they’re so impressed by this effort. When we think about the coke or juice bottles that are transported hundreds of miles, this is a small effort that we can do and it reaches out to them because they see there is something else that can be done.</p> <p><strong>Q: You have 40 or 50 students every Sunday?</strong></p> <p>A: It’s not all international, but it started out that way. It’s more than half. My husband is the one who likes to cook, he makes the bread from scratch, and he makes everything from scratch. We try to use local as much as possible, not always possible for so many people. It’s important to buy locally and use the local stores and restaurants to try and keep those folks going.</p> <p>Quotes:</p> <p>“We want to try and conserve...so we preserve the balance of nature and the rest of us, who are also part of nature.”</p> <p>“It’s important to buy locally and use the local stores and restaurants to try and keep those folks going.”</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Ms. Margaret Christian</h1> <p>2013-05-01T18:15:10+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr"><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 5px; float: left; display: inline-block;"><em><strong><span style="clear: both; text-align: center; width: 250px; display: block;">Photo by Yvette Chen OC '16</span></strong></em></span>Think about all the places you have walked. Have you walked to the public library? Or to school? To pick up some groceries downtown? Or to friend’s house?</p> <p dir="ltr">Margaret Christian has walked back and forth a countless number of times to these places and to others. Why not drive a car instead? There are a number of reasons she could tell you, from health reasons to environmental ones. There is also a fundamental difference for Ms. Christian in the way you perceive the town as a walker. She says, “I see the changes of the seasons, I see the cans that are left behind.” So perhaps walking can be a learning experience as well, explains Ms. Christian. A way to get in touch with the surrounding environment and to gain a better sense of the community, with all of its unique characteristics and rich history. Ms. Christian personally likes to walk to the Westwood cemetery, because it is a place she can come back to, remember and learn about the people that were here who make up the history of the town.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms. Christian also tells me that when she walks she notices the cans and trash that gets left on the street. Seeing this so directly has made her even more passionate about recycling and consciousness of waste. Moreover, she is able to see the larger cycles in our patterns of living - how day in and day out cans get left behind, or recyclables go in the trash, and the garbage men come to pick up the trash. Just a simple awareness of this cycle is important to Ms. Christian, and is in large part a result of her walking. And awareness of these patterns does more for her than confirm the need for recycling; in a larger sense, it has brought her to view Oberlin as one community that is connected in more ways than many people think about. As many people talk about a divide between Oberlin College and the Oberlin community, Ms. Christian emphasizes how important it is that the college “realize that they are intrinsically involved in the land. They are part of the community.” She hopes for all of Oberlin to see itself as “a community - period.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In addition to a greater sense of connectedness, the health benefits of walking are also very important to Margaret Christian. “I don’t take any medications,” she says, “and I attribute it to walking.” Despite being the oldest in her family, Ms. Christian tells me she is the wellest. I was inspired to hear how walking in itself has had such a major positive effect on her life and wellbeing. To explain this to me in one brief sentence, Ms. Christian very eloquently says, “I walk to live.” I think these few words stuck with me the most at the end of the day - a beautiful reflection of the simple, yet powerful act that is a part of Margaret Christian’s life every day.</p> <p dir="ltr">So perhaps walking can be a learning experience as well, explains Ms. Christian. A way to get in touch with the surrounding environment and to gain a better sense of the community, with all of its unique characteristics and rich history.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - A.G. Miller</h1> <p>2013-04-23T15:32:43+00:00</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="wf_caption" style="margin: 5px; float: left; display: inline-block;"><strong><span style="clear: both; text-align: left; display: block;"> Photo by Yvette Chen OC'16</span></strong></span>A.G. Miller is Professor of Religion at Oberlin College. He has lived in Oberlin with his wife Brenda Grier Miller since 1991. In 2001, he and several other Oberlin community members started the Oberlin House of the Lord Fellowship, part of the House of Lord Pentecostal churches. </i></p> <p><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Unique.</p> <p><strong>Q: Would you care to explain that a bit?</strong></p> <p>A: Oberlin is a unique community in northeast Ohio for sure, maybe even in the United States. Not only because of the college itself but also because of the history that surrounds it. It certainly becomes an interesting bubble in this part of Lorain County. It is a fairly diverse community but it is surrounded by less diversity. Unique says a lot about who we are as a community.</p> <p><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life and perhaps for the life of your congregation, how would you do that?</strong></p> <p>A: I think it means being conscious of environmental issues. “Green” tends to get limited to uses of resources and I’m not sure that we have really come to understand the strong and broad social dimensions of that within this community. What do people really mean by green and how does that agenda impact the “least of these?”</p> <p><strong>Q: What actions are you or your congregation engaged in that relate to the definition of sustainability that you just gave?</strong></p> <p>A: I think we have taken several initiatives, working with our congregation to think about health studies and building and developing a more health conscious congregation that includes food development. We encourage family and community gardens, encouraging people to participate in the City Fresh program.</p> <p><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or sustainable living choices?</strong></p> <p>A: How do we think about environment when, for instance, many of our neighbors, i.e. surrounding communities, are farming as their livelihood? How do we think of and begin to develop conversations with them particularly in light of their own economic survival is dependent upon certain kinds of agri-acts, agriculture activities, that may not be green or organic? How do we open up a conversation in the community that we are surrounded by? How do we help local small communities and individuals think about those efforts that can really be sustainable in terms of energy issues besides food issues and everything. I suspect that if you were to tap into most working class folk in his community, and ask them about their parents and how they lived, they would be the greenest people in town. They don’t run the dryer to dry clothes, they have clotheslines, I don’t know if they compost but they use and raise their own chickens. There are all kinds of things that get you to realize that there are all these things that are done not out of a concern for green but a concern for survival. How do we help those people think of those things? There are all kinds of ways to think about these issues, but we have lost great traditions from back in my day. Think of my grandmother, how many times did she use that tinfoil before she threw it away, recycle that tinfoil, you’d be surprised how folk did things because they had to do these things to survive, but they had green potential.</p> </article> <article> <h1>A Flexitarian Diet Lifestyle</h1> <p>2013-04-12T13:05:12+00:00</p> <p>I have been thinking about my eating habits since I went visit my brother in Colorado, who has recently adopted a strict Vegan diet. Not only does he not eat any animal products, he abstains from eating any type of processed food. This adjusted nutritional lifestyle seems like a very difficult task. I’m not sure if I have the willpower to currently take such a drastic step in my own life. His new nutritional lifestyle made me reflect on my daily food choices. How does the food I eat affect me, and furthermore, how does it affect the environment? I never took time to think about how my food choices affect the environment. An Introduction to Ecology course at Lorain County Community College recently opened my eyes to my narrow scope of my food choices. It also offered me a fresh perspective and challenged me to begin looking at my food and the environment through a broader lens. During my Ecology course is when I first heard the term flexitarian. It means someone who is a vegetarian and allows meat in his or her diet on occasion. I started thinking about the different food choices that I can make that can positively affect the environment without going to the extreme.</p> <p>This idea of becoming a flexitarian is appealing to me, because even though I care about the environment and my own health, I am not ready to take such drastic steps in my life to become a full-fledged vegetarian. Instead, I want to push myself to make better food choices rather than feel guilty about eating meat or processed foods on occasion. I believe that eating a completely vegetarian diet is hard and can be costly. With the adoption of a flexitarian lifestyle, I can make changes while also bending the rules to suit my personal tastes. Also, I have a young son that <em>loves</em> his macaroni and cheese and I would not feel right restricting his food choices. However, he will still be affected by this lifestyle change because grocery shopping as a flexitarian will directly affect what I put on the dinner table. He will unknowingly reap the benefits of our newfound nutritional lifestyle.</p> <p>While completing research on the flexitarian movement, I learned that many vegetarians do not like being compared to flexitarians because they do not eat meat and it is not the same lifestyle choice. I believe we live in a society that is full of meat eaters and we eat entirely too much of it. Meat seems to be the centerpiece of every meal. Becoming a flexitarian is a way to reduce your consumption and shift the focus on healthier more sustainable choices. I can make a contribution to the environment by being conscious of my food choices. Not only do I think about how I effect the environment, but also how my food choices affect my body. I want to make decisions that have a positive impact on the environment and my body that I feel good about. Where I am in my life, right now, becoming a flexitarian feels like a good place to be. By being open to change and new possibilities, I can contribute to the world around me. Furthermore, feeling confident and satisfied with the choices I make is one of the best benefits of my newfound nutritional lifestyle. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - John Memmott</h1> <p>2013-04-11T13:32:45+00:00</p> <p><em></em></p> <p><em><em>John Memmott is a semi-retired teacher who spent many years in the Oberlin public schools. He’s also a long-time sea-kayaker and avid photographer. Recently, he’s gotten involved with getting the Environmental Dashboard system set up in Prospect Elementary.</em><em> </em></em></p> <p><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: Well it’s all historical really. It’s the college, it’s the underground railroad, it’s that kind of thing that comes to mind.</p> <p><strong>Q: How did you come to live and work in Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: When I graduated from Antioch College, Oberlin schools were expanding staff, and it was one of the few places that actually had a program that matched my philosophy. They had an inquiry-related curriculum in the Elementary, mostly teaching around themes and projects. Plus, the community was just the kind of community I liked; not a big city, not a real small town. So that’s why I came, and once I got here, that’s it. Here to stay.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you give me sort of your definition of sustainability as it relates to Oberlin?</strong></p> <p>A: I just look at sustainability as using our resources efficiently. You know, not being wasteful. Because in my mind, resources are always limited, and that’s what I’ve always tried to communicate to the kids, is that we shouldn’t be wasteful. It harms the environment, it harms our life-style--our living conditions. It doesn’t make sense, so that’s my feeling about sustainability.</p> <p><strong>Q: So what are you doing in your life that is moving Oberlin towards more sustainability</strong>?</p> <p>A: Just being very conscious of how I use resources. Trying to make sure my home is efficient. And I try to make sure that my family does the same. The students I work with, I let them know that I don’t appreciate it if they’re wasteful with paper or with any other materials.</p> <p><strong>Q: Can you talk a little bit more about your involvement with the Environmental Dashboard and why and how you got pulled into that?</strong></p> <p>A: Mostly I got involved because I had a connection with the teachers in Prospect. And I had been involved with the Oberlin Project a bit too. I feel that advocating environmental issues is always a good thing, and also because selfishly, it got me back into Prospect. It allowed me to reaffirm the connections I have with the teachers.</p> <p><strong>Q: And what do you think about the Environmental Dashboard as an educational tool?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, I think the primary thing I’m really excited about is the messaging aspect - getting kids’ work up there and their responses and their photos on the board. Because I know that’s how you get buy-in from the kids. If the kids know what they’re producing in the classrooms are likely going to show up on a board, they’re going to get excited; they’re going to be more willing to be involved in the whole project.</p> <p><strong>Q: What is something that you would say to Oberlin community members about engaging in the community?</strong></p> <p>A: Well, it’s just about people becoming aware, and I think the Oberlin Project’s main emphasis is getting that awareness out. And I think their look at it is the more people you get to come in and attend meetings--to even be introduced to the idea, the more those things will happen.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Environmental Dashboard</h1> <p>2013-04-11T13:20:00+00:00</p> <p></p> <p>Technology to display video has come a long way since its start in the 1800’s. From analog to digital, VHS to BluRay, and even as you look at your computer, how we receive information (and entertainment) via a screen has changed drastically in order to make a more informed society. But are we informed about the right things in all the right places? While information about the world continues to grow and become more easily accessible, how about what’s happening in Tappan Square this weekend? Or what is my favorite local business doing on the sustainability front? How is the electricity and water I use daily moving through the City of Oberlin? With the launch of the new Environmental Dashboard at Prospect Elementary School and the Oberlin Public Library, this information will be more accessible and relevant to Oberlinians than ever.</p> <p>Now, you, as I did, may be wondering what Environmental Dashboard really means. As stated in the mission statement by John Petersen, one of the developers of the technology, the “Environmental Dashboard is a set of technologies and approaches for monitoring, displaying and sharing information about environmental stewardship in our community. This <a href="http://www.oberlindashboard.org/" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.oberlindashboard.org/">website</a> brings together real-time information on environmental conditions and water and electricity flows through buildings through the city. It combines these with the ideas, actions and images shared by community members. The goal is to engage, celebrate and empower positive action.” While there appears to be many goals in this one statement, it all boils down to education and community. The dashboards are displayed on digital signs that will display the water and electricity use in buildings, as well as the city as a whole. Along with the physical signs, the information will also be accessible online on the interactive dashboard website. These tools help the owners of the dashboard be able to monitor their usage and make changes accordingly. Also, there will be messaging content displaying how people in various aspects of our community, such as schools, businesses, organizations, and public areas, are engaged in environmental stewardship. Lastly, there will be information relevant to the particular location of the dashboard and an events calendar detailing what is happening in the Oberlin area.</p> <p>Currently, there are now three dashboard locations within the community: Slow Train Cafe, the Oberlin Public Library, and Prospect Elementary School. Though an elementary school seems like an unlikely venue for one of these screens, the installation of dashboard technology in Prospect is occurring together as part of a joint effort between the Oberlin City School District, the Oberlin Project, and the Michigan-based firm “Creative Change Educational Solutions” to enhance the focus on sustainability as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum employed in the Oberlin City School District. Creative Change Educational Solutions, based in Michigan, is an organization recognized as a national leader in sustainability education. They have worked with many teachers and students in order to develop new opportunities for them to learn and lead in the sector of environmental stewardship. The teachers of Prospect are now using the knowledge they’ve obtained to work on materials that can used in the curriculum, including ways to incorporate the Environmental Dashboard.</p> <p>One other thing that is also accomplished by the dashboard is the connection it makes to the community. As one student from Oberlin College who assisted in the development of messaging content stated, “By engaging Prospect students directly in message development, we hope to nurture their interest in environmental issues and, more specifically, resource conservation.” Hearing the voices of our upcoming generation and of the current one, I find, is a motivating force to bring people together in one common goal. It doesn’t take hearing from too many people to realize the Oberlin community’s dedication to resilience and sustainability in all of its various forms. Below are just some of the voices that were heard in the development of messaging content:</p> <div> <p></p> <p> </p> <p></p> </div> <p>Every voice in unison, whether young or old, is ringing out to recognize what we are already doing as groups and individuals in a push for a more green, vibrant community. And, through the usage of the newly established Environmental Dashboards, the diverse community of Oberlin will be able to hear them and respond with their own. From this, we will be able to collaborate together, rather than individually, in a way that you wouldn’t think possible with your average display.</p> <p>Want to see the Environmental Dashboard in action and more messaging like the ones shown above? Check out the one of the ones located outside of Slow Train or at the Oberlin Public Library to experience it yourself! Or visit the Dashboard website, www.oberlindashboard.org.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Oberlin Project Community Conversations Translate Into Next Steps</h1> <p>2013-03-28T19:52:18+00:00</p> <p dir="ltr">For the last few months, members of the Oberlin Project Community Engagement Team have been engaged in Community Conversations, chances for Oberlin residents to meet together and discuss what they would like to see for the future of Oberlin. These Community Conversations were held from October through early February, and involved over 120 members of the Oberlin community from a wide diversity of backgrounds. Conversations covered topics such as improving our downtown, creating opportunities for youth and seniors, and expanding city recycling. Many Oberlin residents expressed a commitment to working harder on sustainability; one participant commented on an evaluation form, “I can dig in my heels a little deeper. I am part of the solution.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The Oberlin Project is a joint effort of the City of Oberlin, Oberlin College, and other local partners to improve the sustainability, resilience, and prosperity of our community. It supports the goals of the City and College to create a climate-positive community by 2050.</p> <p dir="ltr">Members of the Community Engagement Team consider the Community Conversations to have been a success. Concerns and ideas raised in Community Conversations are being translated into action right now. For example, Oberlin Project intern John Bergen is working directly with the City’s Recycling Coordinator to implement and simplify recycling in apartment buildings. In the upcoming year, Oberlin Project staff are focusing their energies on developing access to local foods and agriculture through three core projects: a community/incubator kitchen, a local food hub, and a greenhouse capable of growing produce year-round.</p> <p dir="ltr">In addition, the Oberlin Environmental Dashboard displays at the Oberlin Public Library, Slow Train Cafe, and Prospect Elementary School (also see <a href="http://www.oberlindashboard.org">www.oberlindashboard.org</a>) will highlight stories from engaged citizens in a Community Voices section. The goal of the Community Voices section of the dashboard is to share, celebrate, and empower positive sustainable community action. One of the quotes featured under the Community Voices category is from 4th Grade Prospect School student Soria who says, “I want to make a difference. I want to join groups that want to change the world like I do.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Support for Community Conversations was provided by Management Assistance for Nonprofit Agencies (MANA), a volunteer consulting group based out of Kendal at Oberlin. MANA has compiled a report on the Community Conversations, which is available for reading from the Oberlin Project.</p> <p dir="ltr">If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the MANA report, it can be downloaded from the Oberlin Project Website at www.oberlinproject.org or information can be printed for those who do not have access to a computer and printer by contacting Sharon Pearson, Program Coordinator. You can reach Sharon by email at <a href="mailto:<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="07747762667574686947686562756b6e697775686d62647329687560">[email protected]</a>"><a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7b080b1e1a090814153b14191e091712150b0914111e180f5514091c">[email protected]</a></a> or by phone at 440-775-6473.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Steve Hammond</h1> <p>2013-03-28T14:09:42+00:00</p> <p class="normal"><em> </em></p> <p class="normal"><em><em>Steve Hammond has been Co-Pastor of Peace Community Church in Oberlin for 33 years, along with his wife Mary. Steve and Mary are both Protestant Chaplain Affiliates for the Oberlin College Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Steve was the youngest of 18 children in his family. He enjoys running and hanging out with his grandchildren.</em></em></p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: What words or images would you use to describe Oberlin?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: Friendly, historical, trees, Tappan Square, the church, campus, certain people that I know just being here. I just think Tappan Square is the greatest place in the world. I try to get into Tappan Square every day if I can. One of the things I like about Oberlin is that it is such a historic place, that’s another reason I like Tappan Square, you sense the history of this place as you’re walking through there. I think the trees in this town are amazing, I love it when the leaves are off the trees in the winter and you can see how many trees there are. There are a lot of people in this town I respect and I’m glad these people live here.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: If you defined “sustainability” for your own life, how would you do that?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: I think sustainability means that I am conscious of things being limited. Sustainability is trying to preserve the future.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: What actions are you engaged in that relate to sustainability? </strong></p> <p class="normal">A: I made a conscious decision to be a vegetarian for sustainability reasons. It doesn’t make sense to be feeding animals all that stuff so I can eat them. We bought a Prius. We keep our heat down to 60 degrees when we are working at home so we are often cold, but you can always put more layers on. We’ve done all of the light bulb things, put in high efficiency furnace, put in new storm windows to cut down on our energy consumption. I take showers and use as little water as I can, turning it off when I am rinsing and stuff. We don’t keep lights on, we recycle.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: What kind of sustainable activities does the church engage in?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: There are a lot of people within the church who do personal stuff. As far as the building itself, we have done the energy audit, we put in a new furnace, as efficient as we could. I would love to have solar panels on the roof, but I just don’t see how it can happen in that building. People are committed for economic reasons as well as sustainability reasons but we keep the sanctuary heat down low during the week, we don’t need to have the heat up past 50 degrees.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: How do you feel that these actions are important?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: You hope that the efforts people make, as more and more people do more and more efforts, it’s going to help this snowball get going to even bigger issues that we can take on in this society. But I guess I am a thousand points of light person.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: Is there anything you would like to tell your fellow community members regarding care for the environment or sustainable living?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: Think very consciously about what we have, and that we can lose that so easily. We can take responsibility. We can help. We should be so about this community, which in its past has been a leader in important issues in our country. Once again Oberlin can be about saving the world. And we should be so excited, so supportive, so helpful, so hopeful about these next twenty years in this town and what we can help create. Awareness and education is so important, and getting people in touch with each other.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: Can you explain a little more about Oberlin’s history of “changing the world?”</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: You go back to anti-slavery days, when people thought that slavery could never be ended. There were people in places like Oberlin that thought, “We can start working on this” there’s a movement that can get going. Think about gay rights and women’s rights, all of those issues have been so hard and seem so intractable and seem like they’re never going to change. Oberlin has taken a stand and things <em>have </em>changed. Civil rights movement, all of those things, Oberlin has been a part of that. We look at the environmental stuff going on and you wonder, how is this going to change? It’s going to change because some people rise up and make a change and Oberlin has been good at rising up and making people see a change can be made.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Community Voices - Linda Arbogast</h1> <p>2013-03-22T13:30:33+00:00</p> <p><em>Linda Arbogast is Executive Director of Oberlin Community Services. She lives in Brownhelm Township with her husband, Bo, and their three children on an </em><em>organic blueberry farm. Both Linda and her husban</em><em>d were Peace Corps volunteers in Sri Lanka.</em></p> <p></p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: What word or image would you use to describe Oberlin?<br> </strong>A: Progressive. My kids go to school here, my husband and I work here, we definitely moved here because this is a unique place. To me, Oberlin has the mesh of Midwestern, hard working, down to Earth people, but at the same time there’s more of a progressive spirit, willing to look at new things both socially and environmentally and take them on in a way most Midwestern communities are more apprehensive to do. I thought Oberlin was a really nice mix of those things. We wanted to look for a place where our work would be fulfilling and especially the lives of our kids. I really appreciated as a kid having a lot of space and having animals and just being immersed in nature and wasn’t finding that on the east coast in any way that we could afford. It wasn’t where I wanted to raise my kids, so we found Oberlin. It’s not without its challenges but overall I do like it a lot and I think my kids are better for being here. The kids are learning a lot more than they would in a lot of other environments.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: What would your personal definition of sustainability be?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: I would say that sustainability to me is doing things in your life that are in community with what’s around you, other people and nature. I appreciated how John Petersen talked about [in a presentation] how we used to have biofeedback in our daily lives and as a farmer you get that and it becomes such a part of your life. But western culture, we’re more industrialized and we lose part of that. To me sustainability is being one in your environment, being a part of it in that your actions have responses and nature affects you.</p> <p class="normal"><strong>Q: If you think about Oberlin Community Services, would that change your definition of sustainability?</strong></p> <p class="normal">A: It’s a challenging topic when you’re looking at low-income people and the work that we do. On the one hand, we give emergency assistance so somebody comes in and they’re in crisis, our job is to help them get through their crisis. We’ll pay somebody’s electric bill; we’ll pay somebody’s rent. But at the same time, we are trying to find ways to be more proactive because we try to help people realize where they might be able to cut down. There are all sorts of things that happen to people’s houses, some are within their control, some are not. We still want to be proactive and educate people about how they could cut that use and help them prioritize in a way that’s not patronizing because people have choices and people make choices. We work with POWER closely, as it used to be housed here, and our caseworker helps people fill out applications to get involved with POWER.</p> <p class="normal">We are also becoming more involved with organic gardening and we have a really great an organic garden in the back. It started small and has grown immensely over the last few years. We got an award this last year for it and we are really pleased, a countywide award. The idea of the garden, though, is so people have more fresh produce, to improve the quality of the food that we offer people, but also have people understand more about food, especially kids. So as people are getting groceries, we’ll say, “Oh there’s a lot of cucumbers out there, why don’t you go help yourself?” and even just harvesting is a start. The next time we try to increase their involvement to weeding and watering and kids come in regularly on a drop-in basis. A lot of people talk about starting with kids and how important that is. It really is amazing to me how many adults, young adults, even in their twenties, say, “You can make tomato sauce with these tomatoes? How would you even do that?” just really have no idea.</p> <p class="normal">We’re working with OSU extension, we have classes that we are giving in the evenings, nutrition and cooking, and before our food distributions that we have once a month, we have cooking demonstrations to show people how to use the food they get. There’s become kind of fun and there’s been a core group of people who come early to come and do that. Constantly trying to be proactive, but how can we help people in a more sustainable way that will help them in the long run?</p> </article> <article> <h1>Solving the Carbon Problem</h1> <p>2012-09-20T20:30:45+00:00</p> <p>"I think I've figured out the carbon problem," says my seven-year-old son. It's Monday morning, early, and I'm still half asleep. He stands next to my bed, already dressed and dancing with excitement.</p> <p>Rewind a day or so. He and I lay on our backs in the mid-afternoon sunlight, staring up at the sky, wearing t-shirts in mid-November in northeast Ohio. It is almost 70 degrees. "Isn't this great?" he says.</p> <p>I pause to consider his question carefully.</p> <p>I have two main jobs as a dad, you see. The first is to give my kid a good childhood, to secure his happiness, to protect him from the burdens of the world. The second is to prepare him in every possible way for the future he stands to inherit. I can answer his question in a manner that will satisfy one of these, but not both.</p> <p>Ultimately I choose to be honest with him about the theories behind weather like this, despite the knowledge that this will rob him of a certain innocence, perhaps too soon. Still, it is the only choice. I am determined to do my part to raise a generation that transcends the inertia of its predecessors. I know I must begin with this moment, because I do not have the same luxury of time that my parents and grandparents enjoyed.</p> <p>So I explain the intricacies of climate change, the effect of carbon in the atmosphere, the country's dependence on fossil fuel. I explain melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels in the context of an underwater Boston (where he was born).</p> <p>"Hmm," he says. "But I like Boston the way it is."</p> <p>I am taken by his reaction, not so much by the words, but by the manner in which he says them. I detect no sadness or fear. His tone is one of pure defiance, and I can sense the wheels already turning in his head.</p> <p>That night, I overhear him telling his little brother that there won't be any snow this winter. "Global warming," he whispers matter-of-factly. "But we can fix it." And he wastes no time.</p> <p>Back to Monday. I'm awake now, propped up on one elbow. "So let's hear your solution," I say.</p> <p>"It's easy," he replies. "We'll put solar panels on everything. On our cars, on our houses, on the school." He's clearly been thinking about this for hours. He's even figured out how best to retrofit the gasoline engines and oil furnaces to be compatible with solar energy, and explains this to me in great detail, using models built out of legos.</p> <p>I praise him for his good ideas but send him off to school with a brief explanation of economics - the relative affordability of fossil fuels, the high cost of solar panels, the spectrum of household income levels, government and corporate influence. He just smiles at me. He is unfazed.</p> <p>When I get home from work, he is waiting at the door. "Daddy," he says. "The solution is that this doesn't have to be all one thing or the other thing right away." He then presents me with the plan he's worked on all afternoon, which outlines how families at all income levels can transition from fossil fuels to solar energy, albeit at different speeds. It begins with every household getting one solar panel ("just one!"), perhaps on loan from the government ("like they did with the banks!"). "Since solar energy is free," he says, "you can take the money you save by using that one panel and buy more panels, and keep going until you have enough panels to not need fossil fuels anymore. Sure it'll take some people longer than others, but everyone could get there eventually, right?"</p> <p>It occurs to me that my seven-year-old has ideas that are more impressive than those of several politicians I've heard speaking on TV. Before I can tell him this, he's off to play some game on his Wii.</p> <p>I believe that the children of each generation are probably born with all of the answers. Then they begin to grow up - which we see as our cue to slowly, systematically mold them into versions of ourselves - and those answers are lost forever.</p> <p>There's a lot we can do to combat climate change: conserve energy and water, recycle, compost, drive less. But perhaps more important than any of these things, and even easier: when our children tell us they know how to fix the world, let's listen to them and not muck up the simplicity of their ideas with our own damaged perspectives. Some lessons are better handed up than down.</p> <p>Children love the planet in pure and uncomplicated terms. We should allow them to teach us what modern civilization has seduced us into unlearning.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Adventures in Sustainability</h1> <p>2012-08-15T16:43:02+00:00</p> <p>My fiancé, Sharon Pearson, introduced me to the world of sustainability. Much of my life I had some knowledge of recycling and energy saving practices: however, I did not realize the full impact I had in making my community a better place, both now and for generations in the future.</p> <p>Upon arriving to Ohio from North Carolina, my recycling efforts began quite simply, with saving aluminum cans and taking them to a recycling center for money. With further knowledge and education, I began recycling at home by sorting metals and plastics labeled as recyclable for trash day, using a recycling bag as a separator. This bag was placed next to the trashcan as a reminder to consider recycling over throwing our waste away. After a short period of time, we were filling up the recycling container much faster than the “regular” refuse container. In fact, we do not place the refuse container out on the curb but every few weeks.</p> <p>We then began to wonder why there were so many recyclables, and realized that bottled water was a contributing factor. We have since eliminated them from most of our drinking and use filtered tap water instead. We then began replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL‘s as they burnt out or replaced them immediately if they were daily use lights.</p> <p>We also have installed a Vivint security system with a thermostat that is infinitely programmable based on the conditions we set up for usage. For instance, when the house is left for the day and the security system is armed, the thermostat is automatically adjusted to a preset temperature to save energy. The thermostat can also be adjusted from a pc or a smartphone as needed, providing additional energy savings from a regular thermostat.</p> <p>As my knowledge of sustainability has increased, I’ve realized that every step we make as individuals can make a difference in the community we live in, and that every step we make toward a sustainable future is a future the next generation can live and thrive in.</p> <p>Stay tuned for Part 2 of my discoveries in applying environmentally friendly solutions in and around the home in the near future…</p> </article> <article> <h1>When in Doubt...</h1> <p>2012-07-30T14:58:36+00:00</p> <p>We've warmed the Earth by more than 0.8°C, with that much more likely on the way. A 2°C increase by 2050 is likely with absolutely no assurance that we can stop it there. Even in the early stages of climate destabilization we're now witnessing weather extremes that were not supposed to occur until mid-century or later.</p> <p>There's more. Since CO2 remains in the atmosphere for a long time, we have committed posterity to centuries of rising temperatures, rising sea levels flooding coastal cities, ecological chaos, and collateral effects including famine, violence, political and economic turmoil, and psychological trauma. This is emphatically not an argument for doing nothing. On the contrary, the stark reality ahead is the best reason we have to act with the kind of urgency and creativity that we once showed in World War II and in the creation of the Marshall Plan. The picture is clear: If we humans want to hang around for a while we will have to quickly "disinvent fire" or else we'll fry. The big numbers that govern climate and Earth systems don't give a damn about Capitalism, the Dow Jones, or the American Dream. They work with no remorse whatsoever.</p> <p>The fact is that we've already bought a future of progressively worsening disaster, but hopefully not a civilization-ending catastrophe if we act in time. At best, however, this will be the closest of close calls. But do we tell the truth? If so, how do we say it? A great deal depends on how we answer.</p> <p>Broadly, there are three possibilities. The first is that held by the diminishing crowd of climate deniers, folks that couldn't see the sun on a cloudless day at high noon. They are too busy paving the road to Hell with the ideology of the 19th century robber barons to look up.</p> <p>A second possibility is that we must be resolutely upbeat and positive and talk only of opportunity, jobs in the green economy, and making lots of money by selling "climate solutions." After analyzing the science of messaging, human psychology and issue framing down to parts per billion some have concluded that people can only handle good news. Indeed, positive thinking is a very good thing until it morphs into wishful thinking and evasion of reality.</p> <p>The argument is grounded on the assumption that we can't depress anyone even when the situation is depressing. In other words, people "can't handle the truth." Told the truth, people would be paralyzed by despair and fail to do the things that they might otherwise do to improve the situation.</p> <p>But there is hardly a shred of evidence to support that claim. Told the truth about, say, life-threatening illnesses people can and often do rise to a higher level of awareness and behavior. Facing local disasters, people more often than not show a remarkable capacity to self-organize and cooperate as Rebecca Solnit describes in A Paradise Built in Hell. Told the truth, entire nations can rouse themselves to become "the greatest generation."</p> <p>By contrast, imagine Winston Churchill saying to the British people in 1940 that the Nazi bombing of London presented a wonderful opportunity to build the city that Christopher Wren had proposed in the 17th century. Instead he offered only "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" and they responded heroically. Imagine Martin Luther King downsizing his "I Have a Dream" to merely to a jobs program instead of a moral challenge to the nation.</p> <p>In our situation, imagine how an awakened public will one day regard the happy talkers who told them all would be well if they only switched to squiggly light bulbs and bought a Prius. Their contempt will know no bounds</p> <p>The argument for "happy talk" harkens back to Plato's belief that only elites know what's best for everyone else. But exactly which secretive, self-appointed elites are up to the challenge of climate leadership? Is it the financial wizards who collapsed the global economy in 2008? Or maybe it's the neocon disciples of Leo Strauss who engineered the Iraqi war? Or maybe it's the anti-elite Tea Partiers who are busy dismantling our capacity to act as a public to solve public problems. Or even one that parses the facts of our situation to avoid alarming. The truth is that no self-selected "best and brightest" will save us. We will have to do it ourselves. That leads to the third possibility.</p> <p>Mark Twain once said that when in doubt, tell the truth because it amazes your friends and confounds your enemies. Applied to rapid climate changes gathering momentum the best chance we have of coming through the traumas ahead intact is to tell the truth about our situation -- without exaggeration or embellishment -- and mobilize the energy, creativity and foresight of an engaged and informed citizenry. But they will need to know that climate destabilization at some unknown point puts everything at risk.</p> </article> </main></body></html>