It's Only the Beginning

Thank you everyone for giving the compact experiment the good old college try. It's one thing to read about the woes of society and another to 'walk the walk'. For those who will/have not consumed in 28 days straight, you may find that you don't need to wait by the computer or mall for that 29th day to come just to order or buy something- anything. The first week was tough, not because I wanted

The Other Obstacle, People

It seems the biggest obstacle to keeping green (compact) is not my own will but rather the reactions of those around me. Whenever I think I need something, like toys for my puppy (that I know I cannot buy), friends would say, "hey, you signed up to fight consumerism, your dog did not". Or worst still, "would hate to be you, got three cool tops this weekend". There has been lack of support and at

conscience over mind control

I find this exercise revealing in many ways. I had mentioned in class that I really needed someone to go to the the Kanye concert with me, so a concerned student asked me today (also in class) if I had found someone yet. I was bummed to report all my friends are anti-hip hop, have hip problems, or simply too old to hop. Then began the pity party that poor me has to go to the concert by my

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blog #1 - ValverdeAs a professor I constantly look for innovative pedagogical tools. Learning is not about regurgitation from texts but rather using the text as a springboard to gather more knowledge. Memorizing facts to later spew it out in tests may or may not ensure quality learning. So, I was not adverse to the idea of finding alternative ways to process and measure learning (in lieu of a

Be Green 101 Welcome Note

Here we are, trying to make a difference one person at a time one day at a time. We chose to participate in Be Green 101 because we care about the environment and are critical of consumer culture. There exists many ways for us to act upon our beliefs. For this endeavor, we chose to only buy secondhand items (with a few exceptions) in line with The Compact movement that originated in San Francisco