Sustainabilty Now - Spring 2016

SUSTAINABILTY NOW Students for Sustainability Newsletter

Spring 2016

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the beauty, stability and integrity of a community�

-Aldo Leopold

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Editors’ Note Welcome to Sustainability Now, Spring 2016!

Back in September, all of us students had just come back from Summer break, brimming with new ideas to bring to life. The experiences we had over the Summer brought us inspiration and re-kindled our desire to be the change. Upon our return to UW-La Crosse, we went to work immediately to create our second issue of Sustainability Now, in the hopes that we could not only be the change, but inspire growth in others as well.

Since that time, we have almost come full circle. We made it through Winter and now the warm days of Summer beckon. In this second Spring edition of Sustainability Now, we bring you a year of events, reflections on the condition of the global environment, and ideas leading to a more sustainable future. Our writers are from a variety of academic backgrounds and places, but have come together to achieve a common goal: to spread knowledge on how to create a sustainable lifestyle in the years to come for UW-L, for the La Crosse community, and for our world.

Tread softly, but go far!

Laura Berry & Shelby Roberts Co-Editors of Sustainability Now 3

Hillview Urban Agriculture Center on Vermicomposting: Turning Trash into Treasure

By Andrea Schaefer and Joe Klinge

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illview Urban Agriculture Center (Hillview) is a non-profit organization formed in 2010. Its main goal touches on five aspects of urban agriculture and local food systems: soil, planting, eating, local food system, and community collaboration. Hillview’s mission is to create a healthy community through a local, sustainable, and accessible food system by:    

Building soil with food waste Educating and inspiring people of all ages and abilities to grow food Preparing and preserving healthy food together Supporting a food system that serves all our community’s needs

To accomplish this, Hillview has several programs including Vermicompost, Hoop House, Market Baskets Program, and “Get Growing” partnership resulting in a new greenhouse located on 7th and Vine Streets involving Hillview, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare (MCHS-FH), and Western Technical College.

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Hillview’s Vermicompost Program began as a collaboration with UW-La Crosse (UW-L) in February 2010, funded by a Green Fund Grant to reduce the amount of food waste generated on campus. This past September, Hillview and UW-L formed another exciting collaboration with MCHSFH, moving the unit into a facility owned by MCHS-FH on 921 Ferry Street.

Vermicomposting is composting with worms. Hillview uses Eisenia fetida, also known as Red Wigglers, which create worm castings. Harvested worm castings are a nutrient dense fertilizer used for gardens, lawns, flowerbeds or crops. Hillview composts with an industrial sized flowthrough composter that provides an ideal housing for worms so long as the temperature is regulated between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit.

In ideal conditions, the vermicompost unit is harvested three times a year, so it takes about four months of feeding before each harvest. The worm castings are refined in a sifting process that takes out unwanted material in the castings and becomes our product, VermiGold. Last winter, Hillview had great help with this process from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Coulee Montessori students!

Over the last five years, we have been able to divert 40,000 pounds of waste from the landfill and convert that into 10,000 pounds of harvested worm castings. You can find VermiGold sold at the People's Food Co-op, Full Circle Supply, Ace Hardware, and Trees Today. Hillview also donates VermiGold to Kane Street Garden, Washburn Garden Park, and other nonprofit organizations. Finally, Hillview plans to provide VermiGold for use in garden beds on the UW-L campus, possibly as an experiment to compare growth with versus without.

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In the past, Hillview accepted post-consumer food scraps, however, some scraps were contaminated with oil, meat, citrus fruits, and other foods that the worms cannot digest, deeming it unusable. Now, Hillview only accepts pre-consumer food scraps to eliminate this problem.

Students can still help Hillview’s mission by spreading the word about composting, share UW-L’s involvement in the process, and explain how easy it can be. Vermicomposting along with hot composting, without the use of worms, are both beneficial techniques that can be done at home.

Worm caretaking is part of the responsibility of the Vermicompost Coordinator, Joe Klinge (UW-L Alumnus), and Angellica Stanley who is an intern from the biology department at UW-L. The coordinator offers oversight, but the intern has many important duties. Three times each week, Angellica collects pre-consumer food scraps from Chartwells staff at Whitney, transports the food, feeds the worms, and records weight, temperature, moisture, and the type of food. During breaks and summer months, food scraps are collected from the MCHS-FH cafeteria, the Market Place Restaurant.

Along with Angellica, Hillview is lucky to have three other hardworking interns from UW-L, Jessica Cravens, Abby Kannard, and Andie Schaefer.

Jessica, who got involved though the Nutrition department, helped during the summer months in the hoop house, in Market Baskets, and in several other public education activities. Abby is studying Business with a minor in Environmental Studies, hoping to promote sustainable business in her future. She has been working hard on the “Fresh Harvest: Recipes from the Garden” cookbook, a project between the Hunger Task Force and Hillview, along with sending thank you notices to Hillview donors. Andie is studying Exercise and Sport Science with a minor in Nutrition. She has been highly involved in the Vermicomposting Center and hoop house this semester, preparing the hoop for winter growing by building raised beds, transplanting, and harvesting vegetables. She has also accompanied Joe in giving talks about vermicomposting. Lastly, Andie has lent a helping hand at the November Market Baskets classes.

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Hillview will always aim to inspire the community to get involved and "Get Growing" with local agriculture. The way VermiGold fits into this goal is twofold. The first way is by the practical application of the fertilizer, which will allow gardeners to see great results in their gardens! Secondly, is the effective and proud partnerships between Hillview and student interns, volunteers, and food scrap donators to create VermiGold. The product that is produced is then used in local gardens to grow healthy food and strengthen our local food system in the process!

Hillview believes that the more we can involve people, the more our community growing power will increase. By spreading the word through education, hands-on volunteering opportunities, student internships, and collaborations with our great partners and sponsors, we can increase the health and well-being of our community to succeed together!

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By Marina Dvorak

Ingredients  

4 cups (1 quart) milk 1 cup plain yogurt (purchased or homemade)

Supplies       

Four 1 quart sealable jars One 1 cup sealable jar One large pot One large cooler Two gallon jugs Cooking thermometer Funnel for pouring water into jugs

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Crafting an incubator: Fill two gallon jugs half way full of cold water and half full of boiling water. Put the gallons in a medium to large cooler big enough for two gallon jugs and a large pot. Keep the lid of the incubator closed.

Making the Yogurt: Thoroughly clean four sealable 1 quart jars plus a sealable 1 cup jar. Fill a pot with one gallon of milk and place on high heat. Stir constantly while heating. Heat to 185째 for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes shut off the heat and let it cool to 110째.

Let 1 cup of plain yogurt warm to room temperature. The first time you make it you will need store bought yogurt, but after the first batch you can use the yogurt you made. Add the cup of yogurt to the pot. Stir the mix thoroughly. When the ingredients are mixed you can start ladling the mix into the 1 cup jar. Fill the rest of the jars with the mix.

Place the jars in the incubator. Close the lid. Let incubate for 9 hours. Do not open the lid of the cooler during the 9 hour incubation process.

Once made, you should store the yogurt in the fridge. It is plain yogurt, so I stir in frozen fruit, like raspberries or strawberries, to add flavor.

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Limonene Cleans Mercury in Oceans

By Shelby Roberts

Anyone who’s taken, or is currently taking, the survey version of organic chemistry has done the limonene lab. You know, the lab where you get to peel an orange, (and eat it afterwards depending on who your professor is) sheer off the peel, slap some other solvents and catalysis and other chemicals into it, and end up with the teeny tiniest amount of limonene when you’re done. Very satisfying. But the lab room smelt good for a little while, at least.

That very same compound has been harvested in much greater quantities (and probably done with a better yield by actual organic chemists) and now might be able to save the oceans from mercury! Mercury contamination is unfortunately a growing problem in a vast majority of the world’s waterways. It enters a system through mining byproducts and causes neurological problems in fish. And, as we’ve heard in bio classes since high school, that mercury rides up those trophic levels (just like it did with DDT) causing health and cognitive problems in children if the concentrations get too high. Bottom line, the mercury is bad, not helping anyone, and needs to be taken out.

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Lucky for penny-pinching politicians and orange-lovers around the world, the limonene in those peels have been seen to actually suck the mercury out of water. The limonene is combined with a Sulphur byproduct from the petroleum industry and makes a polymer. This polymer went through preliminary tests and has so far remained non-toxic! What it does do is bind with mercury and actually change the color of it from a red to a yellow, showing the extracting process. This is good news as it can potentially be used as an indicator for mercury as well as a clean-up agent.

Australian scientists hope to find a way to line industrial water pipes with this polymer compound to stop the mercury from getting into the water body in the first place. This would be absolutely huge in preventing this harmful chemical from doing any more damage to our already strained water systems. The future holds a lot of good promising outlooks for the Earth’s future.

There are a lot of people out there that want to help and are combining brainpower to make it happen. So go out and do your part to save the planet: eat an orange.

Also, if any of this turns your brain and peaks your interest, UWL has an amazing aquatic science department with great classes and amazing professors! Go to WINGS and see if any of the titles might be classes you want to take in the future.

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Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the bargain basement in Dale’s Clothing (right next to The Root Note) are just a few of the secondhand stores here in La Crosse. Downtown La Crosse is also full of fun antique shops. Bring yesterday’s styles back!

Limit the animal products and use in-season produce. Take a trip to the People’s Food Co-op to buy local ingredients for your dish.

This locally owned business is dedicated to selling low-impact personal care and cleaning products.

Stroll in Myrick Marsh... Hike in Hixon Forest... Bike the Human Powered Trails. Just get outside!

Make the view just a little more spectacular for the next person.

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The Hixon 50 Exploring over 15 miles of La Crosse’s bluff trails in a single morning.

By Laura Berry

As the sun peaked over the bluffs on November 1, 2015 it illuminated a group of over 60 runners on top of the bluff anxiously anticipating the start of their race. Most of these people had trained hard to prepare for this race, but no one knew quite what to expect. This was the inaugural Hixon 50, La Crosse’s first ultramarathon. These strong souls would be running a 50k (approximately 31 miles) on bluff trails through Hixon Forrest, Human Powered Trails, and the Blufflands trail system.

In addition to the 50k, a 25k was offered – a nice short 15.5 mile loop down and up the bluff. Over 150 runners completed this race making the grand total well over 200 people - an incredible turnout for an event that is the first of its kind in the La Crosse area.

The minds behind the Hixon 50 are three UW-La Crosse alumni: Tyler Heinz, Jacob Hegge, and Michael Borst. Heinz is the owner of Grand Bluff Running in downtown La Crosse, and Hegge & Borst are wellknown names on the ultramarathon scene. The three had been dreaming of organizing La Crosse’s first ultramarathon, and thanks to much hard work and dedication, that dream became a reality.

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The 25k was my first trail race and I absolutely loved it! Thank you to the race directors, sponsors, volunteers, and athletes for making it such an awesome day. I've already signed up for the 50k next year.

-Lynne G

The value of the Hixon 50 far exceeds the physical challenge. The race brings together the larger La Crosse community. With the 200 runners came their spouses, relatives, and friends to cheer them on. There were also many volunteers who gave numerous hours on the race day and beforehand to make the event run smoothly.

The Hixon 50 also showcased the beauty of the La Crosse area. The race course took runners through winding dirt paths of Human Power Trails flush with carpets of freshly fallen leaves, into open prairie fields surrounding Medary Quarry, and out onto breathtaking vistas where runners could see the entire Mississippi Valley spread beneath them.

The challenge, the community, and the epic scenery. All these things came together on that Sunday morning to make La Crosse’s first annual Hixon 50 a success.

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What is The True Cost?

By Josh Rostek This was the question I found myself pondering quite frequently after watching a documentary titled The True Cost that was just released this year.

The True Cost gives an in-depth view of the global fashion industry. It’s about the people who make the clothes we wear, the clothing itself, and the ripple effect of an industry that can be felt worldwide.

This 2015 documentary was produced by Michael Ross and directed by Andrew Morgan, an internationally recognized director whose life is dedicated to paving a way for a better tomorrow through film making.

These two men teamed up with four diverse executive producers; Lucy Siegle, Livia Firth, Christopher Harvey, and Vincent Vittorio, drawn together by a common purpose. Their goal was to shed light on an industry's profit margin supported by human capital and held together by the power of fear, poverty, and greed.

Believing in a definiteness of purpose allows for these film makers to convey larger than life emotions to an audience. The True Cost puts meaning to the statement, “In order to care, one needs to feel”. From a typical Westernized concept of purchasing a t-shirt there’s little to no emotional weight associated with the transaction. The shirt was most likely purchased to fulfil a temporary want without taking a second thought to ask the questions; Where was it manufactured? What chemicals went into the process of growing the material? What chemicals went into the dyes? And ultimately, who are the workers behind the scenes?

The more I watched, the more I felt the struggles, the fear, despair of what an average day is like for those people working in a textile factory in an underdeveloped country.

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and the

In 1960, 95% of all clothing was manufactured in the US. Today, only 3% of clothing is manufactured in the US.The remaining 97% is outsourced to areas of the world where working conditions are unregulated and unsafe while the environmental impacts of the industry are unaccounted for.

There are over 40 million garment workers in the world today. Many of them don’t get the same rights that those in the developed world receive. Factory fires and building collapse that could have been prevented by improved working conditions have claimed thousands of lives in 2013 alone.

In 2015, humans of this planet consumed nearly 80 billion new pieces of clothing. What’s more astonishing is that this is more than 400 times the amount we consumed just 20 years ago. The frightening part about these statistics is that our consumption is only growing. The average American doesn’t consider the massive amount of resources required to satisfy this grotesque amount of textile, mainly cotton and leather. Cotton alone represents half the total fiber used to make clothing today. More 90% of cotton is genetically modified, thus using large amount of water on top of application of chemicals.

But we don’t have to feed into this system of abuse and destruction. To paraphrase Gandhi, be the change you want to see in your wardrobe. Buying better is within our reach. A global movement called Fashion Revolution has been created to represent millions of consumers who want change. The movement also memorializes the lives of those who have died in garment factory tragedies by pushing pressure on the brands to increase transparency with consumers globally. The only way change can happen is when we care enough about the people and this earth who are ultimately paying the price for our first world wants.

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County’s solid waste site bene its from two Eagle Scout projects

By Betsy Bloom, La Crosse Tribune

A land ill can be a “quiet, restful” place, in Hank Koch’s opinion.

Even for snakes.

The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department on Saturday unveiled the latest additions to the trails around the land ill site — a wetlands boardwalk and an underground chamber designed to shelter hibernating snakes during winter.

Both were Eagle Scout projects, done with supplies provided by the county and assistance from WisCorps and Les Manske & Sons excavating.

The boardwalk winds through the only marsh habitat on the 350‐acre proper‐ ty, said Koch, the county’s solid waste director.

“So we needed a way to cross the wetlands and do it respectfully,” Koch said.

Zach Mayer began working out logistics for the boardwalk about a year ago.

The 17‐year‐old son of Jason and Kelly Mayer chose it as his Eagle Scout pro‐ ject, he said, because “I wanted to do something that would last, that I could come back to.”

The most dif icult part, he said, was hauling all the materials and equipment to the site. A large vehicle could potentially harm the soft marsh soils and plants, so everything was hand‐carried in from where the paved trail stopped, including the heavy plastic deck boards and wooden support posts.

Installation was done by mid‐August, despite delays due to rain, then working in the full sun on days when temperatures soared. They also twice ran out of supplies, Zach Mayer said.

But he is pleased with the results, which he hopes will help the land ill “be an asset to the community for a very long time.”

Added Mayer, “It was ful illing. The work was de initely challenging at times … but it was fun.”

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Grant Restel, at age 15 the oldest of Eva Marie and Todd Restel’s four boys, said he “likes snakes,” so the hibernaculum was a good it for him. They had to ind the right spot on the land ill grounds, facing southwest to have maximum sun exposure at the entrance, for the 10‐by‐10 foot chamber.

They eventually picked a site close to the new boardwalk but ended up having to wait until just a week ago for a permit to excavate, the teen said.

“I learned there’s a lot more than, ‘OK, I want to build a hole here’ and do it,” Grant Restel said.

The hibernaculum was lined to prevent soil from seeping in and illed with large rocks, placed so spaces are available in between for the cold‐blooded reptiles to curl up together. Dirt was mounded on top so water runs off rather than trickling inward, he said.

The entrance has a large, lat “sunning rock” that should eventually attract snakes to the site, though probably not this year. He and others provided a few plastic snakes Saturday to demonstrate.

Both teens still must have their projects evaluated by a board with the Gate‐ way Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which has about 3,000 pro‐ gram participants in a nine‐county area. Only about 30 scouts are seeking the Eagle rank, said Sean Henneman, the council’s executive director.

The council and solid waste department about ive years ago developed the list of potential Eagle Scout projects at the land ill, Henneman said.

Such public‐private collaborative efforts are needed more than ever today, La Crosse city Planner Jason Gilman said. He foresees the land ill site eventually connecting to other trails to Holmen, Hixon Forest and the La Crosse River Marsh.

It’s all part of the department’s long‐range goal to have a land ill that, when closed in about 30 years, can become a park or recreation area, with natural prairie as well as the small wetlands, Koch said. He already considers La Crosse County the “most gorgeous land ill” he’s ever worked at, he said.

“We want to give the county an asset back,” Koch said, “not a headache.”

“Thank you for the legacy,” county board Chairwoman Tara Johnson told the two scouts, “that you are gifting to us with these projects.”

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Now You See Me, Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics

By Laura Berry

If you’re an avid backpacker, hiker, or all around nature enthusiast, you have probably heard of Leave No Trace. If you haven’t, read on my friend! I am about to fill you in on a set of outdoor ethics followed by millions to ensure that they are seen been none.

Simply said, Leave No Trace is a set of guidelines to help us minimize our impact on nature anytime we’re outside. The rules are simple, straightforward, and apply to anyone who spends time in nature. In fact, they can be summed up in what the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics has coined The Leave No Trace Seven Principles:

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Plan Ahead and Prepare

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Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

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Dispose of Waste Properly

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Leave What You Find

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Minimize Campfire Impacts

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Respect Wildlife

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Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Now You Don’t.

“Leave No Trace lets us peek at that road less traveled and reassures us it will remain that way.”

- Len Kenyon, Biologist and Teacher in Tipp City, Ohio

Each of these can be expanded on, but at the core of all seven of these principles is that we are leaving nature as untouched as possible. When we are outside recreating, it’s inevitable that we will leave some trace.

After all, to get into a nature setting, we have to enter on a man-made path which is a literal and ecological footprint.

However, the goal of Leave No Trace is not to keep us out of nature. Instead the principles of Leave No Trace strive to minimize the impact we have on nature and preserve the wild beauty as much as possible. This means staying on designated paths, hanging onto our garbage, and resisting the temptation to pick up that pretty flower at the edge of the trail.

Whatever your outdoor pursuit of choice may be, I challenge you to consider the impact you have while out recreating. Tread lightly, and keep the wild wild.

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Food, Us, and Sustainability

By Nicholas Theis

“What would you like today, Nick?” I was asked while ordering a sandwich at Whitney. “Can I have white bread with hummus, cheddar cheese, green peppers, spinach, and tomatoes?” I responded. Then she asked the same, almost playfully chiding question I’ve been asked so many times before: “What are you, like, a vegetarian or something?” Simply put, most people who know me would not guess that I’m a vegetarian, and often wonder why I would make such a seemingly signi icant life decision. It all began my sophomore year, in a classroom in Wimberley Hall.

I sat in my Environmental Sociology class, expecting what I had typically expected with courses in that subject: an interesting subject matter that was intellectually stimulating to think about in the abstract, but had little signi icance in most people’s everyday life.

Environmental Sociology turned that expectation on its head. As part of the course I had to make a signi icant lifestyle change for a duration of time, record my observations, and culminate the experience in a written analysis/research paper. So, I chose to switch to a lacto‐ovo vegetarian diet for two months. That experience, along with the content learned in that course, changed my perspectives on humankind’s relationship with the planet around her, and, particularly, altered my views on food and food production.

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Often we ind comfort and familiarity with going to the local supermarket and purchasing that neatly‐packaged meat product without thinking about the larger process behind the product. If we all knew what went on behind the scenes, surely more of us would reconsider the decision to continue to regularly consume large amounts of meat products. In fact, according to a report by the USDA, in 2000 the average American con‐ sumed 195 pounds of meat, 57 pounds above the average meat consump‐ tion in the 1950s.1 This rapid increase in meat consumption has led to en‐ vironmental consequences and shifts in the nature of food production, of which the vast majority of people remain unaware.

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In terms of food production, the swift increase in domestic demand has led to the industrialization of livestock production. Today, Con‐ ined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), or factory farms, are wide‐ ly used in the agricultural system. These farms are characterized by concentrating large numbers of livestock into rather small areas, while replacing the traditional land and labor with the more modern, industrial machinery and equipment. Given the unsanitary concentra‐ tion of large amounts of livestock, CAFOs have numerous negative economic externalities, particularly in regard to the environment. In such conditions, the animals are fed abnormally large amounts of grain, as to induce faster growth rates. As such, immense amounts of waste are created which both contribute to climate change in the form of methane emissions, while simultaneously causing pollution problems on‐site.

Often, waste in contained in lagoons in such facilities. In many in‐ stances, these lagoons are not lined, and therefore seepage into groundwater results. Further, spillages also occur, which directly con‐ nect the waste lagoons into bodies of water. Therefore, CAFOs also pose a legitimate threat to our freshwater sources, which constitute our drinking water.2 Lastly, the industrialization of animal agriculture has caused deforestation resulting in habitat loss, especially in the Amazon Rainforest. According to a report by the World Bank, animal agriculture, through grain ields to feed livestock, as well as actual livestock farm, contributes up to 91% of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.3 Therefore, as we have seen, animal agriculture contributes to water pollution, climate change, deforestation, and habitat loss.

This does not even begin to consider the human health consequences.

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So, as I inished my short stint as a vegetarian in my Environmental Sociology course, I have since switched over to lacto‐ovo vegetari‐ anism full‐time. That course presented the knowledge that left me with a choice: the convenient route, which involved actively partici‐ pating in a process which I knew helps contribute to the detriment of our plant, or, the alternative route, which involved signi icantly cutting down on meat consumption and dealing with its inconven‐ iences. People often tell me it makes no difference what I do as an individual: I am only a single person, how can I make an impact giv‐ en such an immense, global problem? To answer this question, I sometimes turn to the children’s book, The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”4

Cutting down on meat consumption, composting, and eating locally grown foods are all simple ways to cut down on you environmental footprint and promote sustainable living. If you are interested in learning more about animal agriculture and its effects on our plan‐ et, documentaries such as Cowspiracy and Food, Inc., are a great place to start. If looking to actively get involved in sustainability food systems in the La Crosse area, organizations such as Hillview Urban Agriculture Center, Hunger Task Force of La Crosse, GROW La Crosse, and the Coulee Partners for Sustainability are seeking volunteers.

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Meatless Mushroom Tacos

By Calie Gaarder Everyone Knows that Tacos are one of the most amazing foods that has ever been invented, but often we are torn between our, health, the environment, and the delicious beauty of a freshly cooked taco. Meatless mushroom tacos offer a healthy and more environmentally friendly option for those who want to have the full taco experience but still keep the impact on nature and their bodies low. This technique is vegetarian and vegan friendly while still appealing to those who enjoy a nice meaty taco.

How to create your own Meatless Mushroom Tacos: Step 1: Select your mushroom Mushrooms come in many varieties, some have a meatier taste and texture than others. My ideal taco mushroom is portabella because it has a nice solid texture and is able to absorb spice flavors easily.

Step 2: Select your favorite taco seasoning Homemade or store bought, your enjoyment of your tacos often depends on your seasoning. Choose wisely.

Step 3: Cook up your mushroom taco meat Sautee your mushrooms in a saucepan with olive oil and/or butter. For a quart of mushrooms, a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of oil should be sufficient, if using one or the other use two tablespoons. Cover the pan and stir occasionally. Once the moisture from the mushrooms has condensed in the pan you can add your spice. This part is tricky because everyone likes different amount of spices. My best suggestion is to add spice until it tastes the way you want it. Because its not meat, its safe to taste it before it is finished cooking. Let your spiced mushrooms simmer for about five minutes.

Step 4: Construct your ideal taco!

Your mushrooms may be your base but the toppings are just as important.

Just like any Taco, the toppings used to finish it are as unique and diverse as the person who made it. Go wild or play it safe because now you have a meal that is not only good for you and for the environment, but tastes just as good.

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Bibliography Limonene Cleans Mercury in Oceans Chalker, Justin. "We Created a new Material from Orange Peel that can Clean up Mercury Pollution." IFL Science. IFLS inc. , 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. http://www.iflscience.com/technology/wecreated-new-material-orange-peel-can-clean-mercury-pollution MacDonald, Fiona. "Cheap Material Made from Orange Peel can Suck Mercury out of the Oceans." Science Alert. ScienceAlert Pty Lyd, 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. http://www.sciencealert.com/cheap-material-made-from-orange-peel-can-suck-mercury-out-of-theoceans

Food, us and Sustainability 1

Agriculture Fact Book, 2001-2002. Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Communications, 2003. Print.

2 Marks, Robbin. Cesspools of Shame: How Factory Farm Lagoons and Sprayfields Threaten Environmental and Public Health. Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council and the Clean Water Network, 2001. Print.

3 Margulis, Sergio. 2004. Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. World Bank Working Paper;No. 22.Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https:// openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15060 4 Dr. Seuss. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971. Print.

Photography credits: Cover photo: Laura Berry Vermicomposting: Andrew Schaefer DIY Yogurt: Marina Dvorak Limonene: liquid mercury: Geoff Maitland institution of chemical engineers wordpress blog. Ocean: Calie Gaarder Going Green: Laura Berry The Hixon 50: Hixon 50 Race website: http://www.hixon50.com/media.html Now You See Me, Now you don’t : Calie Gaarder Food, Us, and Sustainability: Calie Gaarder

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