Tag: Karan Pol

Composting in Your Apartment

What:

  1. The infographic provides intellectually stimulating content through ingenious ways to compost with an urban lifestyle. Nowadays, with the rise of so many life-hack channels on youtube, the idea of easy ways to compost would surely appeal to a consumer.
  2. As composting, and waste management at large, is an issue in urban communities, said communities would find information that lightens the load of waste directly beneficial to their everyday, while potentially finding a sense of fulfillment in contributing toward lessening the impact of climate change and pollution.
  3. The infographic uses a consistent colour palette with icons for ease of understanding, making an easily digestible graphic. This is accompanied by many different ways of composting that are not commonly thought of.

Gut:

  1. I was interested to learn the ease of starting a vermicomposting system within the home, along with the various methods of composting materials that are traditionally discouraged in large-scale composting (paper that may fly around in compost piles, etc).

So what:

  1. The infographic is sourced by lesecologycenter.org, an organization based in New York that has been working on sustainability issues since 1987. Looking at organizations with history of sustainable use activities helps researcher draw on years of data and practice, just as farmers do with centuries of agricultural development.

Now what:

  1. The infographic does not consider the following
    1. The dislike of worms and dealing with them
    2. Potential smell of compost
    3. Laziness
  2. Clearly, the infographic is meant to target individuals who are readily invested in the sustainability of their actions, not those who are only mildly invested. As such, tactics need to target larger operations such as businesses, offices, apartment complexes, etc. This will make sure that there is communal accountability, leading to more investment and contribution in composting.

Self Portrait: Karan Pol

Majors: Economics (AB/MA); Political Science

    1. In high school, I took a two-year intensive physics course that went through the topics covered within the initial courses that one would take in a physics major along with an additional focus on climate change science, understanding the greenhouse effect and factors that exacerbate it along with concepts of fuel efficiency.
      Furthermore, last semester, I took a class titled Forestry and Natural Resource Conservation, which went through summarily various concepts in conservation science, ranging from soil, to wildlife preservation, and more.
    2. I particularly enjoyed my high school physics class, as it took concepts that I was already interested in from a political perspective and provided background knowledge that solidified my viewpoints and made me a more critical thinker, specifically in regards to climate change science.
  2. In taking this course I would like to diversify my courses of study, seeing as my major (Economics) lends to a more mathematical and political degree, discounting many concepts that would be integral to any occupation going forward with my degree, particularly as I hope to work within the realm of public policy.
  3. Questions on antibiotics in soil or composting:
    1. What methods are used to identify antibiotics in soil? What tools are necessary for doing so?
    2. Is there a standardized list that outlines what goods are to be composted, and why are these instructions not provided either in a classroom setting already or by compost bins?
    3. How prevalent is the discussion of soil and composting in the political realm of policy and legislation?
  4. Composting is an issue that seems to be the most relatable to my generation of students, seeing as many elementary schools (depending on location), would focus deeply on teaching responsible recycling methods to young children. Composting serves as an extension of these teachings and as such, should be easily adoptable as a field of study.
  5. This course highly values outreach in the community which, while discussed in high school, is not something that is often valued for students, as education and income are the primary goals. Through this class, hopefully, I can find ease in civic engagement as well as enjoyment, so as to bypass the priorities that I currently have for myself and give back to the community as much as I can.