The Sustainable Student

Phoenix Commotion Makes Some Noise

2009-09-04T14:05:00.000-04:00

In Huntsville, Texas, a construction company named The Phoenix Commotion is garnering national press for its unorthodox ways. Thus far, the company owned by Dan and Marsha Phillips has built 14 homes for low-income families. While building low-cost housing may not seem unusual, the materials used by The Phoenix Commotion often are just that. According to their website, " The Phoenix Commotion is committed to reducing the landfill waste-stream by diverting useable building materials into the construction of low-income housing, with an unskilled, minimum-wage labor force. Building the "after-market" house with this mission in mind addresses three major social problems with one activity."

This unique approach has lead to innovative designs, including ceilings constructed from old picture frame samples, and floors made of used wine corks. Amazingly, each house is also aesthetically pleasing, with a unique character shaped by its materials. While originally skeptical, city officials have now opened a warehouse to assist the Phillips in gathering recycled building materials from construction crews and manufacturers. The warehouse charges no dumping fees, and actually offers tax deductions for donations. Because of its success, four additional cities are considered opening similar warehouses.

When The Phoenix Commotion was founded in 1997, it took approximately eighteen months for a house to reach completion. Now, over ten years later, it takes approximately six months to complete a project. While the owner must also factor in land costs, The Phoenix Commotion can build an entire house for around $10,000. And for those of us who admire all the work the Phillips' are doing, The Phoenix Commotion website allows many different levels of financial involvement for those who wish to help. Donors can fund anything from a doorknob to an entire project, and are guaranteed "An invitation to the open house when it is complete, an invitation to dinner with the family you helped sponsor, a thank you note from the family, with pictures, a small plaque with your name located somewhere on the house and a good night's rest. "

Photo Credit: The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/garden/03recycle.html

Green-Watching: New and Exciting News

2009-08-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

With greenwashing everywhere, who would have thought that Walmart would walk the walk? The embattled retailer is showing surprising environmental leadership with carbon labeling, resulting in good news for consumers everywhere. In the near future, Walmart anticipates that their customers will be able to view the carbon footprint of each product it sells.

Of additional environmental interest are the new cars unveiled by Chevy and Nissan-they've finally resurrected the Electric Car. It's important, however, to note that "zero emissions" simply means no tailpipe carbon emissions. Depending on the energy source of your electricity, you could still find yourself some CO2.... but overall, very promising news.

What Is Sustainable?

2009-08-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

My professors would kill me for the source that I'm about to use, but here it goes: According to Wikipedia, "Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure." Using this definition, the word 'sustainable' perfectly describes the three main goals of this blog:

Documenting my studies of environmental science and sustainability during my senior year of college

Publicizing environmental issues in order to sustain the environmental movement and its momentum

Maintaining a sustainable balance between my schoolwork and my social life throughout the academic year

So those are the goals.... hopefully they're attainable.

Sincerely,

The Sustainable Student