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8B The Statement Wednesday, Noveber 10, 2010
PERSONALSTATEMENT
WHY TRASH?
H DARAN E MA
BY DA RSH AN KA RWAT
7 i
bon dioxide is emitted elsewhere. How
many of us can visualize such an invis-
ible threat?
What does 385 parts per million
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
mean? That means that out of a million,
there are 999,615 parts of other gases.
Greenhouse gases suffer from a lack of
perception. But that doesn't mean trash
and greenhouse gases aren't related.
The social, economic and philo-
sophical structures in place that cause
the formation of trash and greenhouse
gases are the same. Trash is just a
different manifestation of the same
problem - consumption without lim-
its, carelessness about the future and
disrespect for the ecosystems of the
present. Trash stems from the choices
we make about what to buy and how
to live. Trash
ook around you - on the street
corner, in the Fishbowl, in your
kitchen. Waste is all around
ug. It can be viewed. as involuntary
and unconscious, as Adrianna Bojrab
described in her article "Commit to
reducing waste" in the Oct. 21 edition
of The Michigan Daily. But at the same
time, I would also argue that waste is
entirely voluntary. The mere existence
of waste and trash points to a choice
that we as a society are making. Since
it's easy to buy into the status quo, we
trick ourselves into thinking there is
no choice.
Since March 29, 2010, I have been
trying to live a trash-free life. I con-
sider everything except toilet paper
and food scraps as trash - that means
recyclables are trash, too. I use bags
and containers that I owned on March
29 as my only transporting and packag-
iig materials. If I do "need" something,
I only buy it from a second-hand store.
I refuse before reducing, reusing or
recycling.
I realized quickly that most of our
trash on a dailybasis comes from food
packaging, and that buying groceries,
flour, fruit and beans in bulk will save
much trash from ending up in landfills.
I shop at the Farmer's Market and the
People's Food Co-op almost exclusive-
ly. I carry around a set of silverware
and ask the server at BTB not to wrap
my burritos in foil. Since March 29, I
have accumulated around 3 pounds of
trash, mostly receipts, the tops of reus-
able milk jars and stickers off of fruit.
There are, however, other things
that I failed to anticipate, such as a
broken Pyrex pie dish, and a sparkler
from my friend's graduation party.
Each piece of trash I now have has a
story for me. Each piece embodies an
experience and many lives. Not only
mine, but also those of the human and
natural resources that went into mak-
ingthem.
I grew up in Mumbai, India, a bus-
tling, multicultural, multilingual city
of close to 20 million people. Just like
any megacity, the grime there is vis-
ible, tangible and never more than a
few feet away from you. Yet, I grew
up there during a time in which over-
consumption hadn't really made its
way into the mainstream Indian cul-
ture. I am proud to say my parents
afforded my sister and me a simple but
incredibly happy life, without the truly
unnecessary trinkets and gadgets that
seem to clutter homes and trash cans
nowadays.
After moving to Ann Arbor in 2003
to start an undergraduate degree,
nothing much changed for me in the
way I chose to live. Living within
means and constraints - personal,
financial, social and environmental
- is something I value. I believe this
is the responsible way to live. My first
laptop from 2003 is still the same one
I use today; it gets the job done. The
clothes I wear, as old as they may be,
keep me covered, warm and comfort-
able. New things always come with
their tags, bubble wrap and fancy bags
- things we will "trash" within days.
When I go to a second-hand store, I
choose not to see "old" forks, "reused"
t-shirts and "outdated" furniture.
Instead, I choose to see all the material,
energy, water, time and other resourc-
es we have invested in perfectly func-
tional and working objects, objects of
our humanity. I don't mean to say that
there isn't merit in novelty and fash-
ion. What Iam saying is that we should
is about green-
"I like to think of trash as water: It house gas emis-
sions, toxins
flows like streams and rivers along in water and
heavy metals
the path of least resistance." and dioxins
released from
incinerators.
make full use of what we have already, We have structured our societies and
beforegoing out and purchasing some- interactions around trash and waste,
thing new, untouched and virgin. and have accepted their existence.
Trash is visceral - we feel trash, No one wants to be around trash,
we smell it, touch it and hear it. When and that's why places in Canada and
we go out to dinner, we use napkins to the entire city of Toronto ship their
wipe our hands. When we crack open a trash and waste, more than 400 truck-
bottle of wine, we rip off the wrapping, loads per day, to Michigan for dump-
hiding the cork and throwing it out. On ing. I like to think of trash as water: It
game day, the yard of a college frater- flows like streams and rivers along the
nity house is littered with plastic cups. path of least resistance (those willing
We hear the early trash collectors with to deal with it for the least amount of
their huge trucks at the crack of dawn, money) and ends up in puddles, lakes
crushing pounds of trash. A trash bin and oceans (landfills). New York City
filled to the brim releases a putrid smell ships most of its waste to New Jersey,
that just makes us want to walk away. Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio
Indeed, trash makes its presence felt - far away places. Many of the semi
far more than do our other foes, like trucks you see on the highway are
greenhouse gases. Take carbon diox- actually just full of trash.
ide, for example: When we flip on the Trash is big business, upwards of a
light switch, the room is illuminated $50 billion per year industry, and peo-
here, but the odorless, colorless car- ple have a vested interest in the gen-
eration of trash. Yes, in some ways, my
project to stop making trash "negative-
ly" affects someone's family and some-
one's job, in these "tough economic
times." But inherently, any activism
or choice changes the fabric of what is
acceptable and what isn't, which inher-
ently affects our communities and
economies.
Many people have asked me about
my social life: am I able to go out and
be with friends? Where do I go to eat?
Am I just a sore thumb when I am
with a group of people? In the end, it's
about sacrifice. My friend told me the
other day that the act of sacrificing is
to make something sacred. What have
I sacrificed? Not much, to me at least
- fast food, packaged pasta and a new
iPhone. But what have I made sacred? I
have made my Earth, my surroundings
and people that deal with the conse-
quences of our behavior more sacred
to me.
What does a world without trash
look like, and how do our interactions
need to change to move toward that
vision? Is trash a natural outcome of
"modernization?" What would happen
if we had to carry around the trash we
produced rather than throw it "away?"
Ann Arbor, as many of your friends
and family have probably noted to you,
is a unique environment that is set up
for each one of us to live experimen-
tally and experientially. We have all
of the social resources set up in a way
that we can choosea project and live it.
I would encourage you to think about
those things you take for granted,
those things that are unconscious to
you, raise them into consciousness and
act on them. Maybe you can try living
trash-free for a week, or maybe even a
day. I am waiting to hear your story.
- Darshan Karwat is a Ph.D.
candidate. He can be reached at
dippind@umich.edu. You can read more
about his year without trash on his blog
at minimizingentropy.blogspot.com.
THE GREEN ISSUE
STRIDES TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY
From Page 6B
wants to focus on making a change in
the students who are already here.,
Students who attended fresh-
men orientation this past summer
received a 21-page guide called "How
to be a Green Wolverine." The packet,
which can be found on the Graham
Institute's Website and in residence
halls, provided incoming students'
with information about buying local
produce, conservation and instruc-
tions for throwing sustainable par-
ties, among other environmental tips.
For co-chair of the Environmental
Law Society Augustus Winkes, it was
the idea of shared responsibility that
prompted him to get involved with
sustainability initiatives in the first
place.
"Too often, I think, students are
so focused on their chosen areas of
study that they can forget about their
relationship to the bigger institution
they are part of," said Winkes, a Law
student and masters candidate. "SSI
reinforces the notion that we all have
a stake in how the University address-
es sustainability issues ... Moreover,
sustainability will not be achievable
unless we to work together."
OFF THE GRID
From Page 5B
try to eat locally grown food as much
as possible, with eggs and meat com-
ing from their own farm.
"Footprint is something we're con-
scientious of and the best way to start
to think about your footprint I think
is to pay attention. The farm forces
us to pay attention to food, so we pay
attention to meat in ways that other
people don't pay attention to meat,
because we grow our own meat," he
said.
With this practice in place,
Trumpey said he had gone 12 years
without buying meat and eggs from
the grocery store, until the construc-
tion of the home, which has caused
him to make the occasional purchase.
As the house is completed, Trumpey
said he and his wife have a goal to
grow 50 percent of their own food.
Trumpey added that the house and
its dependence on solar energy is also
a reminder of the family's environ-
mental impact.
"The house connects us to site
as well and we pay attention to our
electrical use in ways we never did
before, because we're off the grid,"
he said.
As the house construction nears an
end, Trumpey said he's very pleased
with the outcome of his design, but
added that there are more projects
in the future, namely a barn for the
livestock.
Though the family has been liv-
ing in the house for the past year-
and-a-half, official residence will
be declared before Thanksgiving.
Trumpey and his family will be
authorized residents of the only
straw-bale house in Jackson County.
But as Trumpey reminds us, this way
of life isn't out-of-the ordinary.
"It's a pretty normal American
lifestyle," he said.