Resource Management Project

Sign my petition to help bring a composting pick up system to San Diego: http://www.petitiononline.com/acsfsd/petition.html

San Diegans are extremely fortunate to have a city-wide recycling and trash pickup system. However, people who live in San Diego are missing a third leg of the stool of effective waste management: a composting system. Unfortunately, in this city, valuable food waste is being thrown in the landfill with other trash that takes significantly longer to decompose, such as non-recyclable plastics, cigarette butts, and other garbage. San Diegans must make a city-wide composting pick-up system that takes the food to a composting landfill. This system has been implemented in many places such as Ottawa, San Francisco, Seattle, and Germany with much success.
The city will benefit by reducing emissions produced in a normal landfill as well as gain profit from selling the compost to local farmers. In this way, the nutrients will stay in a closed loop food system. San Diegans will need to arrange for the drivers, the trucks, land to put the compost on, cans for pick-up, and materials to educate the public. All these costs will add up; one estimate was that the cost would be similar to that of the trash pick-up system, approximately $54-65 million, but the cost will be worth it to make San Diego sustainable. Many people oppose composting; if these people only knew that composting, done correctly, does not have an extremely bad vermin problem or even smell they would surely change their mind. Although this system could take time, money, and thought to implement, the plan is still a prudent option. Composting is a benefit to all of the people it serves."The city of San Diego's Miramar Landfill is expected to reach capacity in 2012, unless it is expanded" (Fitzsimons, Elizabeth). However, about 25-50%% of trash is able to be composted and if this was to be removed from the trash that must be put in the landfills, then that problem will be greatly reduced (Schenk, Courtney). Keeping food waste out of landfills is a valuable goal for San Diegans.
California has historically been a leader in all “green” causes; we consistently vote to support environmental policies and laws. It is extremely disappointing to many San Diegan citizens to have their city fall behind in the race for sustainability. If San Diegans cannot be convinced to start a composting system for the pure, above stated, benefits, at least the citizens can feel the sense of competition among forward thinking cities in the United States, as well as abroad. A composting system will be a huge benefit to all members of the city of San Diego and must, for San Diego's own sake, be implemented immediately.

Letter to an elected official:

To whom it may concern:
I am writing to express my opinions on the way San Diego's food waste has been utilized in the past. Currently, our food and green waste is being unnecessarily thrown into landfills with other trash that takes significantly longer to decompose. Because of this, we not only overflow landfills at an accelerated rate, but we also do not effectively utilize the valuable soil that comes from composting. San Diego must create a city-wide composting pick up system that takes the food scraps to a composting landfill. This new plan will result in jobs for San Diegan citizens, profit for the city, and less use of toxic, unsustainable landfills. We should have a composting program similar to that already in place for trash and recycling: a biweekly curbside pickup. One estimate for the cost of such a program was that it would be similar to the yearly cost for our trash curbside service, that is from $54-65 million. Out of the $298.4 million dollars allocated in 2010 for supplies and services, we can surely allow a small portion to implement such a valuable program.

Composting programs similar to the one I propose have been successfully implemented in other communities, such as San Francisco, Seattle, Ottawa, and Germany and have resulted in numerous jobs for planners, architects, city experts, compost specialists, environmental activists, and drivers. We can even sell the resulting compost to local farmers to make profit. In Texarkana, compost from the citizens food scraps earns a profit of $12 a cubic yard. Anywhere from 25-50% of trash is compostable; if this food waste was made into compost, the amount of trash placed into landfills would be greatly reduced. The Mirimar Landfill is expected to run out of space in 2012; do we really want to have to create another toxic landfill? Please put your good name behind a bill to implement a composting system. San Diegans need a system like this for the good of our city. Californians should be leaders is sustainability. Composting is really the easiest and most cost-effective way to make a big difference in the way San Diegans look at issues affecting the environment.

People may worry about issues with composting, such as smell and the possibility of vermin. However, these will not affect our composting system at all, provided we go about creating the system in the right way: making the compost with the right proportions of "green" or yard waste to "brown" or food waste and keeping the bins covered to protect them from the elements and any animals or bad insects. I have had a smaller scale composting bin in my backyard for the past year and a half with no complaints of smell or pests.
I hope you realize after reading this letter how important a composting system is to San Diego. Please place yourself behind a law that would start such a program; the system really needs your support.

Thank you for taking the time to read my opinion.

Allison Ferrini

My Op/Ed:

Op/Ed Piece on Composting

Headline: What we can learn from Birds, Bees, and San Franciscans.

Birds do it, bees do it, San Franciscans are famous for it. Get your minds out of the gutter; I'm talking about composting. Yes, the City of Love has had a city-wide composting system for their residents since 1998. But how many cities have followed the forward-thinking trend of this golden city? Not enough. Using food waste effectively to produce compost will result in jobs for citizens, profit for the city, and a reduction in the amount of waste put into landfills.

A composting program will create tons of jobs, both during and after the plan is implemented. We need planners, architects, city experts, compost specialists, and environmental activists to all have their say. After the plan is implemented, we will need composting experts and drivers to collect the compost as well as factory workers to make the bins. In this poor economy, we could all do with a hopeful job future, especially one that will contribute so much to sustainability and green urbanity.

In Texarkana, the government avoided a cost of 4.8 million dollars by implementing a composting program. The resulting compost is sold for about $12 a cubic yard to farmers or gardeners. In San Francisco, the resulting compost is sold to vineyards -- a higher quality fertilizer for fine Californian Wine. Compost can also be used for storm water management and erosion control. Imagine our waste being made into "black gold," then used to grow delicious and healthy fruits and veggies or hold up our beautiful hills. Composting will make our city even more gorgeous. The benefits of compost are simply too many to ignore.

Our landfills are filling up fast; in San Diego the main landfill is expected to reach capacity in 2012, in only two very short years. Anywhere from 25-50% of trash is compostable (not even counting meat and dairy). If all food waste was removed from the trash that must be put into landfills, we won't need so many toxic, unsightly landfills.

So why not compost? Some people think that compost smells, or that it will attract animal visitors. However, these fears are unfounded. Composting, done right, and with the correct ratios, has very little odor (much less so than landfills!). My family has had a composting bin in our backyard for over a year now and we have had no complaints about the smell. And a well-covered and secured container for the compost will keep the vermin out. Others fear costs of implementing a city-wide program: costs for containers, trucks, workers, and publicity will add up.
Yes, there will be a start up cost. But the benefits we receive by being a leader in sustainability, as well as the jobs and profit that will be created, are impressive. We really cannot afford to ignore composting anymore. Let us follow the example of such cities as San Francisco and Seattle and start a city-wide composting pick-up and processing system! To make your voice heard on this issue, sign the following petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/acsfsd/petition.html

Allison Ferrini
allison.ferrini.821@gmail.com
858-663-4349

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Vocabulary Words Week 6

scuttlebutt -nautical speak for gossip, as well as for the water cooler, where such rumors originate and spread. The pirates gossiped by the scuttlebut, drinking clear fresh water as they discussed who had been last seen with scurvy.
bulwark -a wall, a fence, a buttress. We set up a bulwark to keep the armies out but they found a way in through our hearts.
hubris -arrogant pride. He was filled with hubris at the thought that he had two girls fighting for him.
dearth -an insufficiency, not enough of something. There is a dearth of water in Ethiopia.
deference -respect. Lady Gaga showed deference to the Queen of England when she performed relatively modestly.
emulate -to copy (has better connotation than bottom two). He wanted to emulate his hero's practices, even down to his favorite brand of socks.
imitate -to emulate. The dolphins imitated the tricks of their humans as a joke; they knew that they were the second most intelligent species on the planet.
mimic -to copy or imitate. Youngsters learn at a very young age that to mimic their parents or peers is a good way to win any argument.
endemic -common, originating (at a place), has a strong presence (there). Native Americans are endemic to America.
aborigine -native, indigenous peoples. The Aborigines of Australia must give birth while walking before catching up the rest of their tribe.
inchoate -recent, new, vague. His dreams were inchoate and fantastical.
precursor -something that comes before or leads to something else. The telephone was a precursor to little implants in all of our ears that do everything (tell time, play music, call people, surf the web, etc).
volatile -subject to rapid changes in temperament, temperature, status, or other characteristics. Stay back, this is a volatile mixture of boiled linseed oil and gasoline; it could burst into flames at any second!
pictures to be turned in

Vocabulary Words Week 5

1) equivocate - v. to beat around the bush, to be purposefully vague. By equivocating whenever anyone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I received socks and shampoo.
2) eradicate - v. to get rid of. I want to eradicate the blood stain on my favorite chainsaw.
3) erode - v. to wear away at. My mother's constant whining eroded my defenses; when she asked for the last time for me to clean my room, I acquiesced.
4) erratic - adj. irregular, not in a pattern. The drunken bee followed an erratic path before making a crash landing on a flower.
5) escalate - v. to make larger, in size or intensity, perhaps without cause, making a mountain out of a molehill. The teeny misunderstanding was escalated into a full-out brawl.
6) esoteric - adj. only understood, known, or appreciated by a few people. Calculus is an esoteric passion; not many people love it or even understand it.
7) espouse - v. choose, follow, extol the virtues of, become married to. I espouse the benefits of a city-wide composting system in San Diego whenever I meet anyone new.
8) eulogy - n. a speech given at a funeral. In eighth grade I dressed up as Lorenzo de Medici's nanny (complete with eye-shadow dusted moustache and uni-brow) to talk about his virtues.
9) euphoria - n. complete happiness, joy, excitement. I was euphoric when I received my Snuggie for Christmas.
10) euthanasia - n. to end something before it's time, usually to put it out of its pain when there is no hope of recovery. It was really sad when we had to euthanize my fish, but I knew it would be happier in the giant fish bowl in the sky.
11) epitome - n. prototype, embodiment of a certain characteristic, best example of a certain kind of thing. He is the epitome of luxury; his underwear is made of the fur of 12 endangered species.

Pictures to be hand drawn and turned in.

Abstract for Government Project

San Diegans are extremely fortunate to have a city-wide recycling and trash pickup system. However, people who live in San Diego are missing an unfortunate third leg of the stool of effective waste management: a composting system. Unfortunately, in this city, the valuable food waste is being thrown in the landfill with other trash that takes significantly longer to decompose, such as non-recyclable plastics, cigarette butts, and other garbage. San Diegans must make a city-wide composting pick-up system that takes the food to a composting landfill. This system has been implemented in many places such as Ottawa, San Francisco, Seattle, and Germany with much success. The city will benefit by reducing emissions produced in a normal landfill as well as gain profit from selling the compost to local farmers. In this way, the nutrients will stay in a closed loop food system. San Diegans will need to arrange for the drivers, the trucks, land to put the compost on, cans for pick-up, and materials to educate the public. All these costs will add up; one estimate was that the cost would be similar to that of the trash pick-up system, approximately $54-65 million, but the cost will be worth it to make San Diego sustainable. Many people who oppose composting; if these people only knew that composting, done correctly, does not have an extremely bad vermin problem or even smell they would surely change their mind. Although this system could take time and thought to implement, the plan is still a prudent option. Composting is a benefit to all of the people it serves."The city of San Diego's Miramar Landfill is expected to reach capacity in 2012, unless it is expanded" (Fitzsimons, Elizabeth). However, about 25-50%% of trash is able to be composted and if this was to be removed from the trash that must be put in the landfills, then that problem will be greatly reduced (Schenk, Courtney). Keeping food waste out of landfills is a valuable goal for San Diegans. California has historically been a leader in all “green” causes; we consistently vote democratically and support environmental policies and laws. It is extremely disappointing to many San Diegan citizens to have their city fall behind in the race for sustainability. If San Diegans cannot be convinced to start a composting system for the pure, above stated, benefits, at least the citzens can feel the sense of competition among forward thinking cities in the United State as well as abroad. A composting system will be a huge benefit to all members of the city of San Diego and must, for San Diego's own sake, be implemented immediately.

Vocabulary Words Week 4

1. intrepid - adj. fearless, courageous. The intrepid explorer walked into the dark cave, not knowing what he might find at the other end.
2. trepidation - n. hesitation, fear, or anxiety. It was with trepidation that the girl walked in to the room of lions, carrying only a large bottle of water and a magic scarf.
3. despondent - adj. depressed, without hope. Working on college applications makes me despondent; I feel like I could be writing essays forever.
4. decorum - n. proper manners or behavior. I plan to have advisory made into a decorum class, where students would be taught essential skill such as napkin folding and the samba.
5. aspire - v. yearn, hope, or dream. I aspire to be a top notch archer.
6. vacillate - v. constantly wavering, unable to choose. The young adolescent vacillated between hating all of humanity and wanting to cuddle with his girlfriend.
7. desultory - adj. unplanned, disorganized, and without enthusiasm. When the fat, balding man began questioning me about my love life, I answered him desultorily, making up short stories than would make him stop talking to me.
8. fallacy - n. an untruth, a lie. Johnny told Marie a fallacy when he said he only had eyes for her...because really, he was sneaking around behind her back with other potatoes.
9. formidable - adj. scary, large, foreboding. The large castle was scary enough, but the alligators in the moat were extremely formidable.
10. heritage - n. legacy, inheritance, culture. My heritage is mixed; I am a mutt of all breeds.
11. guru - n. a leader in some way, often religious or spiritual. My guru says I need to eat only grapes and drink only canola oil for the next week in order to cleanse my aura.

Vocabulary Words for Government Honors Wk 3

subtle: below the surface, hidden, not blatant
His subtle use of sarcasm made his co-workers confused whether or not he hated them.
vehement: positive, sure, loudly assertive
I am vehemently opposed to opposition.
zealous: crazy, passionate, often about religion
Enviornmental zealots often hold riots for causes they strongly believe in.
adverse: opposed to a thing
I will never go; I am completely adverse to bungee jumping.
averse: opposed to a person
She has an aversion to him...something about his giant eyebrows.
blatant: outright, shameless
His blatant disregard of both schedules and the contraints of time meant he was always late.
alleged: supposed, rumored
It is alleged that Jon is pregnant with an alien baby.
aggravate: anger, intentionally bother
It aggravates me when, at soccer practice, the field is wet because then I kick up mud all over myself when I run.
discreet: hidden, self-conscious, polite, well-mannered, taking care
Discretion is an important quality for both butlers and assasins.
factoid: something asserted as a fact, but might be made up
Texans often believe the factoid that the Texas State flag may be at an equal height with the American flag, because of Texas' previous status as a nation. However, by law all flags must be lower than the American flag.
flout: go around something, blatantly disregard,
He flouted the teacher by showing up for class late, wearing a baseball cap, and toting his teeny girlfriend, who went to another school. They then proceded to sit in the back of the class and make out. Loudly.
forte: area of interest or special talents
I love making any kind of food, but soup is my forte.
disinterested: objective, neutral, not taking sides.
Referees must be disinterested in the outcome of the game in order to remain impartial.
Pictures will be turned in on Monday.

Food Blog Update

After reading an excerpt from Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, we had to answer some questions about it. Following are the questions and my answers.

1)Why do people choose to eat products that are unhealthy for them? (food stuffs)

There are many reasons that someone might choose to eat unhealthy food. Sometimes other products are unavailable or are too expensive for the average consumer. Or people can simply be uneducated or think that they are making healthy choices. Another reason is addiction-to sweeteners or foods that taste good. People might be too busy to spend the extra effort to get the healthier food options.

2) What roles/responsibilities does the government have in framing your choice? (Should they be responsible for educating us? should they be responsible for managing all products we consume? GM included, plastic chemicals - poisonous additives)

I believe the government should be responsible for enforcing labeling of the food as well as the nutrients in it and where they come from or if they are genetically modified. Then they should let a free market and the demand of the consumers dictate what products remain in the market. I don't like the nutrition suggestions and percentages because they were made by corporations and do not apply to everyone.