Chris Pazden PAEP Reflection: Burton Green or Green-washed?

Christopher Pazden

Dr. Williams

COR 230

30 November 2013

Individual Reflection

            Snowboarding is a sport that requires many different types of gear needed to participate, such gear includes: boards, bindings, boots and outerwear. Manufacturing these different types of gear on such a large scale can negatively affect the environment; however companies like Burton are trying to reduce the effects that go into the manufacturing process by using more sustainable practices. Burton was one of the first snowboard companies in the world and is often recognized as the leading company on the snowboarding market. Jake Burton Carpenter started Burton Snowboards in 1977 in Stratton, Vermont, where he started to make his own snowboards in a wood shop. Jake Burton was inspired to make his own boards when he saw Sherman Poppen’s “snurfer” board and thought he could modify it. The “snurfer” board was two skis bound together with rope at the top that the rider could hold on to. Burton was successful in modifying the “snurfer” board and because of that he started what would eventually be the biggest snowboarding company in the world. (Burton)

            Today, Burton’s factory is based in Burlington, Vermont and my group and I were lucky enough to receive a tour of the factory. At first it was a bit difficult to get a tour at the factory, but because Cory has a friend who works there, we were able to get in and Cory’s friend also gave us some sustainability facts that we weren’t able to find on the Burton website. The Burton factory was full of all different types of machines and technologies that performed various functions throughout different stages of the manufacturing process. The two machines that impressed me the most were the 3-D printer and the SLS machine. The 3-D printer allows Burton to make plastic molds of a bindings, boots and optics. In just a few hours, the research & development team can print a binding to further the manufacturing process. The second machine is the SLS machine, and it also makes parts quickly. The SLS machine works by using a high power laser to fuse small particles of plastic, metal ceramic, or glass powders into a desired three-dimensional shape. The laser selectively fuses powdered material by scanning cross-sections generated from a 3-D digital description of the part on the surface of a powder bed. After each cross-section is scanned, the powder bed is lowered by one layer thickness, a new layer of material is applied on top, and the process is repeated until the part is completed. Burton re-uses the left over powders from the SLS machine to continuing making other parts. (Ober)

            Because Burton is recognized as the leader of snowboards, their constantly producing snowboarding gear, which can have negative effects on the environment. Burton has a whole sustainability section on their website in which they show how “green” they are being by introducing different programs that helps the environment. My group thought it would be a good idea to see exactly how “green” they actually are and to find out if they were just “green-washing”. Going into the factory I thought that Burton would be more of a “green-wash” than actually “green”. I wasn’t completely wrong, but I wasn’t right either. Burton has many truly green programs such as their “Protect Our Winters” campaign. The POW campaign focuses on “building awareness and taking action against global warming in the snowboard community through social media campaigns, global team rider activation and events.” (Burton) Burton actually does do this activity and they take it pretty seriously. Another “green” program that Burton does is the “Green Mountain Process” where Burton tries to incorporate eco-friendly decisions where ever possible. Cory’s friend at the company was able to give us some information not seen on the website and with this information I was able to see that Burton has stuck to their word on the GMP. In the past year they were able to produce topsheets with 20-30% recycled content, sintered bases with 20% recycled content, extruded bases with 40% recycled content, stainless steel edges with 90% recycled content. Burton’s use of recycled metal edges saved 41,834 pounds of waste from the landfill. After seeing a few of the programs that actual help the environment, I was able to see some of the programs that are more of a “green-wash”. Such programs include Burton’s “Organic Garden Plots” Burton offers their employee’s a little plot of land at the factory to grow a garden. It is a nice gesture, however when we toured the factory these plots were not as big as they were made out to be and it did not look like they were getting much use. Another program that Burton is more of a “green-wash” on is the “Waste Reduction” or as we would refer to them in our group as “Trash Parties”. Burton offers 18 composting and recycling stations throughout their global headquarters. Burton’s goal is to inspire employees to create less waste by being a waste-free building. They will host regular “Trash Sort” events in which Burton will secretly save employee trash, and then have their employees sort through all of it to determine their progress toward being waste-free. We looked at this as more of a green wash than as something that is actually helping the environment.

            I was wrong to think that Burton would be a complete green-wash, because they do actually have some very good programs in place that do help the environment. There are certain programs though that are not really helping and are only there to make Burton look good. In my group we discussed how we did not want to attack Burton, because they are putting forth an effort to help. It may not be a huge contribution, but they show that they care more than most companies do. In terms of how Burton makes their decisions, they are a company and their ultimate goal is to make money, sometimes decisions made in order to make money are not always ethical, but I believe that Burton operates in a way that allows them to be profitable and also allows them to put forth an effort to help the environment.

            I was interested in this project from the start; I really liked the idea of going to tour the Burton factory and thought they would be more interesting than other ideas that were thrown around. When we decided to do Burton and saw that they had a sustainability page on their website we all knew that the green vs. green-washed idea for our project was going to be our focus. My group for this project was also great, I’m thankful that I got the group that I got because I felt that when we all got together for a meeting we were all focused and that made getting the work done a lot easier. Organizing a trip to the factory or getting sustainability information was a hassle at first, but Cory’s friend really came through for us and helped us get everything we needed in order to make this PAEP project happen.

            In conclusion Burton Snowboards is green, but they arent as green as they seem. They do have some great programs in place and they also have some green-washed programs. However they are doing more than most companies and their attempts at doing a good deed is appreciated. As far as this PAEP project goes I’m very happy with the way it turned out and couldn’t have asked for a better group to help me throughout the process. I can’t wait to see what our poster looks like in full size when it is done printing. I just only hope now that our presentation will go as smooth as every other aspect of this project.

Work Cited:

Burton. "Sustainability | Burton Snowboards." Burton Snowboards. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Ober, Lauren. "Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice." Craig's Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Morgan Denton's PAEP Reflection

Morgan Denton

Professor Rob Williams

Ethics and the Environment

2 December 2013

PAEP Reflection

The Audet’s Blue Spruce Farm: Cow Power

            The PAEP project was a great learning experience. It was a great way to get us out into the community to learn about local organizations that are taking steps to be sustainable and trying to help the environment. The first day when my group met I wasn’t sure what exactly we should do. We started doing some research and I started thinking about what was around the area. I couldn’t think of anything that I found interesting in the Burlington area but instead I thought of the Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport. When I was in high school we went on a class trip to the farm and I remember going on the tour and hearing about what the farm was doing to be sustainable. So my group and I decided that we would do our poster on the Audet’s Blue Spruce Farm.

            Norman and Mary Rose Audet bought the original farm in 1958 and within the next seven years they had five children. In 1970, they had a devastating barn fire but were able to save their herd of cows. The second generation of the Audet family decided they wanted to focus on the comfort of their cows. Currently, the Blue Spruce Farm had three barns and they are currently milking 1300 cows, with about 30 employees. During the spring of 2004 they started to build the digester and it was ready to use in January 2005. In November 2011 they doubled the size of their digester.

            The digester that was installed at the Audet’s is a 16-foot deep tank that is oxygen free. In this tank, it takes waste and turns it into biogas acting as if it were a stomach. The tank is kept at 100 degree F, which is the temperature of a cow’s stomach. The waste is collected by a huge squeegee that runs throughout the barn non stop and the waste is then pushed into a drain then makes its way to the digester for a 21-day period. During this process, microorganisms produce methane gas. This methane gas is collected at the top of the tank and then goes through a pipe and the gas is used to fuel the generator that is used to produce heat, hot water, and electricity. The electricity that is produced then gets dispersed into the grid. During the first year of producing cow power the Blue Spruce Farm produced 1M-kilowatt hours. The Blue Spruce Farm produces enough electricity for 300 plus homes (Blue Spruce Farm website).

            The Blue Spruce Farm is all about trying to be as sustainable as possible. The Audet’s are all about keeping their cows comfortable. The Audet’s have thermostat-controlled walls and rubber coated floors. Their cows never walk on concrete. Depending on the temperature outside and in the barn the walls with either go up or down if it’s too cold or too warm in the barn. As far as bedding for the cows, they use the dry digested manure instead of sawdust that was shipped in from Canada. Not only are the Audet’s trying to reduce their carbon footprint by using all they can from the waste in the digester but they are also thinking about their community surrounding the farm. The odor is also eliminated which makes a lot of people very happy. Not only are local households running off of cow power but business’ are as well; businesses such as Vermont Clothing Company, Long Trial, and Handy Toyota. The Blue Spruce Farm was the first farm in Vermont to be a cow power farm (Blue Spruce Farm website).

            As we have read in the Ethics and the Environment book there has been a question raised whether or not animals have rights. I do believe that animals have rights but I believe that the Audet family is doing a great job in supporting and taking care of their animals. As Marie has said over and over while talking with her throughout the semester, comfortable cows are happy cows. I think that cow power is a great idea and a great way to use the waste in many different ways. Other farmers that don’t have this technology are just spreading the manure on the fields for fertilizer where as the Audet family is really using all aspects from the waste to their benefit as well as the cow’s benefit.

            Group projects are always difficult. Finding a time for all of us to get together was very hard and very frustrating because we could never seem to find a time that worked for all of us. I was able to contact Marie on our first day of working together and she was great and got right back to us and was able to bring us on a tour that same week but not everyone was able to make it so we decided to wait till everyone could go. A few weeks went by and Marie said that she wouldn’t be able to meet with us in person because we would be gone on trips for the farm. However, then the government shut down and that was in our favor because her trips were unfortunately canceled but we were able to have a tour. Only two of us were able to make it but we made the best out of it. It was truly a great experience. While walking around the farm with Marie and learning about their way of doing things was great and a fun way to learn about their farm. The site visit definitely made the project. We also had a great opportunity to watch a film, The Film: Cow Power that was produced by college students about cow power and participating farms in Vermont. I was very honored for Marie and the students who produced the film to share it with us. Marie was more than willing to help us with our project and was very honored that we chose her family farm.

            Overall, this project was a great learning experience. I really enjoyed it and being able to pick something that I am very passionate about and love to learn about made it even more interesting for me. Working with a group can be frustrating at times but we all pulled through and it was such a relief when our poster was completed. At the beginning of the semester when I saw the requirements for this project I was very overwhelmed and wasn’t sure how well it was going to go. I am very glad we had this opportunity to go out in the community to learn about something we were interested in. It was a great experience and I am very thankful for all of Marie’s help.

Works Cited

Audet, Marie. "Blue Spruce Farm | Audet's Cow Power." Blue Spruce Farm | Audet's

Cow Power. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bluesprucefarmvt.com/>.

Cow Power: The Film. Dir. Allison Gillette. Prod. Michael G. Gray. 2013. Online.

DesJardins, Joseph R. Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy.

Australia: Wadsworth Cengage, 2013. Print.

Joshua Popielarczyk PEAP individual reflection for Ben and Jerry's

Joshua Popielarczyk                       

PAEP individual reflection

Ben and Jerry’s, a trademark name built from hard work and an ethical structure.  To explain the success of such a company, I looked to its history.  Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded their business with a combined twelve thousand dollars, consisting of life savings and a four thousand dollar loan.  They began churning out delicious ice cream loaded with all their favorite nuts, cookies, and candies.  But what made them known?  What made them stick out?  Their environmental consciousness and more so, support of environmentally friendly policies.  Buyers feel good when they know their buck goes to a company who helps the place we live on stick around longer.  Ben and Jerry’s are actively involved fighting global warming, reducing paper consumption, recycling waste for energy, creating energy-efficient freezers and even committed to sourcing non-GMO ingredients for all their products everywhere by midyear 2014. 

               With such undeniable evidence that Ben and Jerry’s continually advocates and lives by environmentally friendly policies, I feel it’s necessary to explore the implications of this as it pertains to both the environment, and ethics.  Ben and Jerry’s addvocation of awareness and action relates to the concept of “deep ecology” that we read about in chapter 9 of Environmental Ethics.  Deep Ecology focuses on the fundamental aspects that cause issues such as resource exploitation and depletion rather than just address these issues on the surface.  Realizing that a cause of deforestation is the use of paper materials such as ice cream pints, Ben and Jerry’s transitioned to FSC certified pint containers.  This means the pulp in the paperboard comes from forests that are managed to promote protection; wildlife, biodiversity, and the sustainability of the forest.  By addressing causes of such environmental destruction, Ben and Jerry’s can actively reduce their handprint on nature, saving the earth and hopefully getting others on board too.

               Ben and Jerry’s have always been front loaders in the environmental awareness game, organizing protests and even taking tours across the country.  Constantly promoting and taking actions, Ben and Jerry’s, in my mind, have created their own “mother culture”.  Ishmael defines mother culture as the media, propaganda, and any other societal influence we experience during our lives.  However, if you scale that down you can see Ben and Jerry’s impact.  By using their well known name and associating that name with environmental activism, they have helped significantly in spreading knowledge of how to help.  If more company’s made this mentality a part of their business, I believe we would see a lot of progress.  After learning such shocking facts from this class, I can honestly say Ben and Jerry’s has made it a mission to help change the way we think, and more so, treat our planet. 

               In chapter 5 of Environmental Ethics on page 119 Desjardins says “Environemntal ethics requires more than a simple concern for individual animals of a certain type.  At a minimum, we need to consider questions about the morals status of a diversity of plant and animal life”.  I see a connection between this theory and the way Ben and Jerry’s promotes itself.  As we discussed in class, to make change, you need to make people want change.  So the question becomes, how can one create an association between the environment and some fun or positive.  Ben and Jerry’s found a solution!  In 2002 they released an ice cream called one sweet whirled.  They advertised an environmental action website on their ice cream, and even named the ice cream after the movement!  To me, this is an extremely progressive way to get people to not only recognize the environment as important, but learn how to help save it.

               Overall, the whole process of creating this poster has been enjoyable.  Our group made a great decision in picking Ben and Jerry’s, we knew that they were an environmentally friendly company with plenty of information about them.  As we guessed, there was a plethora of information right on their website which made our research very effective.  The factory, about 40 minutes from Burlington, was yet another great resource for us.  We used their many information posters to gather a more detailed explanation for how they promote saving the planet and green energy.  What made the whole thing better was that I actually love Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, have since I was a young kid.  Therefore, getting to learn about all the ways they actively help sustain our planet was very rewarding.  A company that gives a crap about the place we live is a good quality when deciding on whose ice cream to buy!  As far as how we interacted individually, the sailing was equally as smooth.  We all expressed an urge to work hard and do well on this poster, so having four like-minded attitude was very helpful.  I will say, at one point I was worried that a group member would try to dictate the creation of poster too much, however I found this to be just that, a worry.  Our group collaborated on many occasions, including three to four group meetings and a trip to the factory.  Meeting as much as we could drastically increased our productivity and content as we were able to have four minds working rather than one at a time.  This project was a truly great way to end the most enjoyable core class I’ve had.  Dr. Williams, you are a fantastic teacher who really connects with the materials you teach.  I feel you not only have a great deal of knowledge about the subject, but furthermore “walk the walk” in your everyday life.  I found it very easy to come to class and learn, hopefully that will be evident in our final project! 

WORKS CITED:

"Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream." Ben & Jerry's. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 20

"Core 230: Ethics and the Environment." Core 230: Ethics and the Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

DesJardins, Joseph R. Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993. Print.

Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael. New York: Bantam/Turner Book, 1995. Print.

Holly Tempini The Intervale- PAEP Reflection

Holly Tempini

Dr. Williams

Ethics and the Environment

12/1/13

PAEP Individual Reflection

I have learned so much about the environment and sustainability in local Vermont farms after doing the PAEP project. After a lot of brainstorming and research my group decided to visit The Intervale. Since 1988 the interval has been dedicated to improving farm viability, promoting sustainable land use and most importantly engaging the Burlington, Vermont community in the food system. Their main mission is to strengthen community food systems, and after visiting I can say they are doing a wonderful job!

Sustainable agriculture has been around for a long time even though it was not always called by this name. Before farmers made the transition to totalitarian agriculture, farmers would plant small plots of land in ways which were relatively friendly to the environment.  Today we use conventional agriculture because it has led to lower food prices for consumers resulting in an abundance of inexpensive food.  “For decades, issues such as soil erosion, exploitive working conditions, pest resistance to pesticides, and small farm viability were brushed aside as the price of progress in the industrialized agrifood system”. (Brown) Today sustainable agriculture is still around but is not used nearly as much as conventional agriculture because of the higher cost and amount of work it takes.

Farming by conventional means requires the use of large farm machinery and chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, which can be bad for the environment. Sustainable agriculture on the other hand does not need these large pieces of equipment and technologies because they don’t like to harm the environment. “ Science and technology have also played a major role in bringing about some of the worst environmental problems that we face” (Desjardins, 9) Those who practice sustainable agriculture will raise plants in greenhouses during the winter season and then open up the greenhouse when it gets warm enough for the plants to grow. Sustainable agriculture also uses other methods to raise crops in ways, which prevents depleting the ground of essential nutrients. They will use something know as crop rotation in order prevent this from happening.

“To make ethical judgments, give advise, and offer evaluations of what ought to or should be is to engage in normative ethics” (Desjardins, 25) Most farmers are aware of this concept when deciding what type of policies they have in mind for their farm. People who practice sustainable agriculture usually try to break away from conventional agriculture for ethical reasons such as doing their part in reducing pollution and farming waste. Compared to the current convention of totalitarian agriculture, sustainable agriculture lessens farming pollution, in particularly with regard to fertilizers being released. The release of fertilizers can be very detrimental to the environment by polluting water supplies and can have a devastating effect on the habitats of animals.  Fortunately in most cases of sustainable agriculture, no pesticides or fertilizers are used. More human labor is required to grow fewer plants, because of the fact that sustainable agriculture does not use the techniques designed for the purpose of reducing farming expenses and maintaining a large output of produce.

Agriculture policy, at least in the United States has a very large focus on totalitarian agriculture.  Once farmers meet certain regulations and guidelines, they really are free to do whatever they desire with their farmland. The American farmer has a mission to produce enough food to feed the world. In order to fulfill this mission they must always farm their land at its capacity. Conventional farmers can farm next to rivers, water supplies and animal habitats without any fear of repercussions from releasing and spreading pollution.

“There are a number of agricultural farming practices that are controversial. These may include using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and planting genetically modified crops, as well as the decision to dehorn cattle rather than raise polled cattle breeds”. (Cardoso) Farms like The Intervale made some great ethical decisions when they decided the vision for their farm. They ensure community engagement in the food system, promote sustainable use of agricultural lands and use greenhouses and their new farm incubation which are good for the environment.

Overall I have to say I learned so much after doing the PAEP project. Initially I was a bit overwhelmed while we struggled to find the farm that all of us liked and that would contact us back. Some farms were too far away or too busy at that time, so The Intervale really seemed to fit what we were looking for. Once we actually visited the farm I realized how much this little farm was actually doing for the community. They had many different greenhouses and crops scattered around this fairly decently sized piece of land. I really enjoyed taking pictures of all the plants however I was a bit disappointed that many crops were finished growing this late in the season. I think as a group we worked really well together and ended up splitting the work up pretty evenly and agreeing on what goes where on the poster.

Works Cited

·      Brown, Martha. "Sustainable Agriculture at UC Santa Cruz." The CENTER for AGROECOLOGY SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

·      Cardoso, Sarika. "Ethical Frameworks and Farmer Participation in Controversial Farming Practices." N.p., 11 Dec. 2010. Web.

·      DesJardins, Joseph R. Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1993. Print.