Author: Wesley Wiggins

Level Up Your Leftovers #1: Cauliflower Jalapeno Soup

By: Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23

Welcome to the inaugural post of Level Up Your Leftovers, a series where I (Naomi) take your leftovers and turn them into a refreshed recipe! 

First up, we have a submission from Lisa here at the Office of Sustainability. Lisa laments, “I have half a jalapeño left that I can’t figure out what to do with! We made tacos a few nights ago and didn’t use the whole thing. Would love some ideas otherwise, I can compost it :)” Well I have some good news, as I think I know a recipe that can ease your worries. It’s vegan/vegetarian friendly and is packed with hearty cauliflower!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH FRIED JALAPEÑOS

(adapted from IsabelEats)

Image Credits: Isabel Eats https://www.isabeleats.com/roasted-cauliflower-soup-with-fried-jalapenos/

Serves: 4

Time: ~30 minutes

You will need:

  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 0-3 jalapenos, diced, with or without seeds (can substitute with other peppers/hot sauce if needed)
  • One large onion, diced
  • 2 heads of cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1 ½ cups milk of choice
  • ½ tsp each: dried sage, cumin, smoked paprika*
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped + more for garnish (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Feta cheese, for garnish

*adjust seasonings as necessary

Instructions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced jalapenos and cook until brown and crispy, around 3-5 minutes. Transfer the cooked jalapenos to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Add the diced onion to the pot over medium and cook until the edges begin to be translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the cauliflower florets and saute until they turn brown. 
  3. Stir in the garlic as well as all of the dried seasonings. Saute until fragrant, stirring frequently for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the vegetable broth and milk of choice into the pot, as well as most of the fried jalapenos (reserve some for garnish). Cover with a lid and boil until cauliflower is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  5. Check the soup for seasoning, and add more if needed. Remove the bay leaf. Add in most of the fresh cilantro (reserve some for garnish) and hot sauce to taste. Using a regular or immersion blender, pulse until smooth.
  6. Plate up the soup with feta cheese sprinkled on top as well as the reserved fried jalapenos and fresh cilantro. Eat with a crusty bread on the side and salad for an impressive meal.
  7. Enjoy!

This recipe can be customized in terms of seasonings and spice levels. It can be made completely vegan with the omission of feta cheese.

Some fun facts about jalapenos:

  • They were the first pepper to travel into space on the 1982 Space Shuttle Columbia
  • They are an excellent source of vitamin C and contain copper, magnesium, vitamins A, E, and K, folate, manganese, fiber, potassium, and iron.
  • Surprisingly, a typical jalapeño pepper packs more vitamin C than an orange!

Incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet is a great step towards reducing your carbon footprint. According to this Economist article, just going vegetarian could cut your food-related emissions by 30%! It’s the small steps that count, and dietary changes can make a big difference in crafting a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.


If you try this recipe, let us know over on Instagram or Facebook. If you want to try and stump me with your own batch of leftovers, send in a submission here! Your recipe could be the next one featured on the Tigers Go Green Blog.

Happy Cooking!

Naomi

The Science of Sustainability: Paul Chirik

By: Ethan Sontarp ‘24

In its current state, only a fraction of the plastic types we use on a daily basis is actually recyclable, accounting for an 8.7% recycling rate. While the process may be limited, sustainability researchers have been working to make improvements in the materials we recycle in order to reduce our consumption of single-use plastics. In this interview, I discuss the chemistry of recycling with Paul Chirik, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Chemistry, whose lab recently discovered a plastic material with the potential to be recycled more effectively.

Image Credit: Paul Chirik via https://chirik.princeton.edu/

Could you give a brief overview of your current research? What makes it interesting to you?

So, what I do is I study catalysis. That’s a key component of sustainability because what catalysis does is by definition it makes chemical processes use less energy. The question we asked is: Is catalysis as sustainable as it can be? That’s the cool part of sustainability research – you can always do better. You can always save a little bit more [energy] here and there. One of the big things we’ve been after for a long time is that we’ve looked at the way people use catalysts; usually, they’re based on rare elements like platinum and palladium (all the stuff in the catalytic converter in your car). Nobody would argue catalytic converters are bad, they’ve completely cleared up the air and the environment from car exhaust, but at the same time, we’re using elements that come out of mines that have really huge carbon footprints. So, the [goal] is to use these great catalysts with iron and try to make all these reactions go better with less energy input [and] generate less waste. I think the most exciting thing is that we started doing this trying to make catalysts to insert into existing processes, and then when you start playing with new metals and new catalysts, you discover things you never thought you would see.

Image Credit: BBC News via https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45496884

What does the current recycling process for plastics look like? How would you like to further improve it? 

I think people are now appreciating how bad it is. You know, I actually feel a little guilty as a chemist, I didn’t realize how bad it was until we started studying it. I figured every week we put our milk jugs at the end of the curb and they went away and all is well, and you don’t realize the percentage of plastic that gets recycled is so low. That tells me there’s a chemistry problem here, the biggest part of it is we need new materials. We use a lot of plastic that it doesn’t make sense to recycle.

What does sustainability mean to you? How do you engage with sustainability outside of your scientific work?

Sustainability to me means a way of life, right? I think it should be how you interact with the environment around you. Outside of my job, I try to practice what I preach which is looking at how much stuff I throw away, how much I consume […]. You have to ask yourself what kind of carbon footprint you think you have and compare that to what you actually have. I think the most impactful thing I can do is educate people, because of the kind of science we do.

What is your favorite source of sustainable energy and why? 

If you ask me as a chemist where we need to be in 100 years, we need to rely on the sun. It’s free, there’s lots of it. The problem is we don’t know how to do most of [the chemistry] yet. We have a long way to go but that doesn’t mean you give up, because it’s a really hard problem.

What are some common misconceptions about energy sources?

I think the biggest misconception is that people think that fossil fuel is only for gasoline in their car. They don’t realize that you cannot live without interacting with multiple products [of fossil fuels], whether it’s your clothes or carpets, [even] the food you eat was grown from fertilizer that was made from fossil fuels. Just about every single product you interact with […] had an interaction or derivation from fossil fuels.

Are there any sustainability or climate science resources you know of that you would suggest for readers?

I pay a lot of attention to elemental usage. Hopefully, people worry about their carbon footprint, but that’s still very narrow, you should worry about your element footprint. Your cell phone has 65 of them in it, and some of those elements take a lot of energy [to obtain].

Discover where the elements which make up your smartphone are sourced from:

https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/resources/from-minerals-to-your-mobile/

Minerals in your mobile

Image Credit: National Museum of Scotland via https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/resources/from-minerals-to-your-mobile/

Welcome to Level Up Your Leftovers! – An Introduction

Hi! I’m Naomi Frim-Abrams (‘23), and I love cooking and baking (and eating!).

(Me being super excited about some good-looking fresh kale)

Though quarantine definitely fueled my cooking/baking enthusiasm, I’ve been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. I eat a mostly vegetarian (and fully kosher) diet and am on a quest to convince my friends that dishes without meat don’t have to be boring! Here are a few of the yummy recipes I’ve whipped up:

Black sticky rice bowl with avocado, seaweed salad and a soft boiled egg

Linguini alfredo with spring vegetables

Orange poppy seed cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting

Tuna steak with seafood mushrooms, roasted potatoes, topped with caramelized onions, and a red wine pan sauce (fancy, right?)

This past year especially, I’ve really enjoyed what I call “leftover cooking,” or challenging myself to turn leftovers that are sitting in my fridge into entirely new dishes for me and my mom to enjoy. That container of takeout rice that’s slowly losing moisture each day? Add some coconut milk and warm spices, and it can become a luxurious rice pudding. Chili that’s been sitting in the freezer for more months than you can remember? Some mashed potatoes and vegetables can turn it into a hearty vegetarian shepherd’s pie.

The big question here is: why is rescuing leftovers important? Aside from being a fun way to develop creative cooking skills, we in America waste between 30-40% of our food supply which is way too much food waste! That means that not only the food itself is wasted, but the time, labor, and energy that went into growing that food is wasted as well, from the gas used to power tractors to the copious amounts of water needed for agriculture (especially meat and dairy products). Some of this is not on the consumer end; food spoils during transport, is damaged during processing, and gets thrown out by grocery stores if it is blemished. But we can significantly contribute to decreasing food waste by being intentional about what we buy and in what quantities.

And this is where Level Up Your Leftovers comes in. This series aims to be a fun way for readers to submit images and/or descriptions of their leftovers, and in return to receive a personalized recipe to utilize said leftovers! No fridge is too empty or full; what matters is that you can find new ways to use foods that otherwise would be thrown away.

Submitting your leftovers is incredibly easy and takes less than five minutes! Fill out this form, and the next post could feature a recipe designed for you! So, whether you want to reduce your food waste, learn new recipes with old ingredients, or just try and stump me (Naomi) due to whatever personal vendettas you may have (hopefully none!) submit to Level Up Your Leftovers! Looking forward to seeing your submissions.

-Naomi

The Science of Sustainability: Graeme MacGilchrist

Author: Ethan Sontarp ’24

In my climate science class, GEO 202: Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate, we frequently talk about the ways human activity is affecting the planet, with increased carbon emissions, rising temperatures, and shifting atmospheric/oceanic dynamics. It always interests me to understand the positions of those so close to climate research on living a sustainable lifestyle and the current state of their research. This week I interviewed my professor, Graeme MacGilchrist, who is an oceanographer and climate scientist doing his post-doctorate at Princeton in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences. We discussed his relationship with sustainability and its intersection with his scientific research, specifically surrounding the ocean’s response to climate change.

Image Credit: Graeme MacGilchrist

What does sustainability mean to you? How do you engage with sustainability outside of your scientific work?

If you want to talk about sustainability you need to address the internalized concept of how we live our lives [and contribute to a] society that is thinking about sustainability as a core function in everything that it does. The thing that’s the most worrisome is that the effects of climate change are going to be so unequal. It’s hard to convince somebody who is in a very comfortable situation, […] so you have to tap into something deeper in people which is really about compassion and empathy. Climate justice and climate equity are inseparable from the sustainability effort. I try to be a good community citizen in the sense […] of all the classic ways of trying to limit my broad environmental impact [by] cycling and walking much more than driving.

Could you give a brief overview of your current research? What makes it interesting to you?

I really think about the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle; the amount of carbon that’s in the atmosphere has a significant impact on the […] absorption and retention of energy by the ocean. The ocean is playing this critical role in determining how much carbon stays in the atmosphere as a massive storage unit of carbon. I try to understand through modeling how ocean circulation is playing a role in determining the uptake and storage and movement of carbon, both in terms of future change […] as well as past changes. The reason I like that is that it involves every science that you can imagine.

Image Credit: Graeme MacGilchrist

With what you have seen through your research, what are the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature rise on the oceans? I did some work early on in my career on ocean acidification, so as we put carbon into the atmosphere it makes the ocean less alkaline, and the impact is felt by calcifying organisms which a lot of the base of the food chain of the ocean is made up of. In terms of the ocean, we’re really moving into the unknown in regard to the ecosystem functioning and the impact in a broad way.

Where do you see the climate in the next few centuries?

I feel like we’re at this particularly fraught moment, where we could go either way. There are some really positive indications the corner is being turned here. I think a lot of genuine conversations are occurring about carbon mutual features, […] climate change, and emissions.

Have you seen the effects of improper waste disposal in person, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? How does that make you feel?

I have not seen the Pacific Garbage Patch and funnily enough, there’s a misconception about it. It’s not all plastic bags sitting on the surface of the ocean. It’s mostly small particles of plastic that have made their way there […] and high concentrations of plastics on the surface of the ocean. I worked on a project very briefly tracking plastic waste from an island called Aldabra in the Indian Ocean […] using ocean currents to do some back trajectories to determine where these particles came from.

Are there any sustainability or climate science resources you know of that you would suggest for readers? There’s a book by […] Alastair McIntosh called Riders on the Storm. I actually ended up being like a science advisor for it. He puts together basically the spiritual keys for addressing the climate crisis.

Image Credit: Alastair McIntosh via alastairmcintosh.com

Meet the EcoReps- Isabel Schoeman ’24

Hometown – Brooklyn, NY

How do you engage with sustainability?

Outside of the EcoReps program, I try to engage with sustainability through my individual choices. I love taking classes at Princeton about the environment, reading literature that makes me feel connected to the world around me, spending time outside, and, of course, trying to reduce my own impact through small scale actions. I get so excited when I find a new way to reduce the waste I produce and love to share these habits with friends and family!  

What do you study and why?

I study politics! I’m really interested in education equity, and understanding political channels seemed like the best way to enter that field. Plus, I really like the classes.  

What other campus groups are you involved with?

I am a Peer Academic Advisor and I co-organize Princeton’s Splash conference!  

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to do puzzles and word games! The New York Times Spelling Bee is my favorite. I also enjoy spending time with my friends, family, and dog (her name is Clementine).

Share a fun fact about yourself!

I think I’m really good at Just Dance but a terrible dancer. 

Meet the EcoReps- Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23

Hometown – Pittsburgh, PA

Spring Location – On Campus

What is your favorite EcoRep project that you’ve done?

I really loved meeting with Zee groups last year to talk about sustainable practices on campus and hear everyone’s ideas and questions. Overall, one of my favorite parts of being an EcoRep is getting to interact with students from all parts of campus to discuss a topic about which I am very passionate. Whether in-person or virtual, I am excited to be a resource for anyone looking to develop more sustainable habits!

How do you engage with sustainability?

I try to be intentional with my smaller actions and behaviors in order to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Whether this means making sure lights are turned off or air-drying my clothes as often as possible, I want to develop sustainable habits that I will carry into the future.

What other campus groups are you involved with?

I am a member of the Sunda Rainforest Project, as well as the Religious Life Council. I also love doing theater and have been fortunate to be a part of the CJL Play for the past two years.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I play violin, enjoy reading, and try to be outdoors as much as I can! I’m also a big fan of horror films and love watching with friends.

Meet the EcoReps- Bobby Shell ’23

Hometown – Shreveport, Louisiana

Spring Location – Princeton, NJ

What is your favorite EcoRep project that you’ve done?

I’m a new member this year, but I am very excited and cannot wait to begin working on projects this semester and beyond!

How do you engage with sustainability?

I carefully watch the products I buy, observe my habits around the house (i.e. electricity usage, water use, and make sure my appliances and devices are maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste). When I am on campus, I stay on top of my recycling, make sure I reuse as many non-recyclable materials as possible, and attempt to engage with others to make them aware of what they can do to be sustainably conscious and environmentally friendly.

What do you study and why?

Right now, I am looking at majoring in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) because I feel a strong passion for domestic public policy and affairs and how to maximize the good we can do from addressing inequitable education to systemic issues such as racism and poverty. All of this and my drive to help people is why I have decided to major in and study all I can about policy, domestic and foreign problems and affairs because we will need to address many things to move forward in our progress toward a brighter future.

What other campus groups are you involved with?

Before the pandemic, I was an employee of Campus Dining working at the Whitman dining hall, which I hope to return to after we get through this, and I was involved in intramural sports like soccer and dodgeball, but now that those have been halted, currently I am active in the Princeton chapter of UN-USA and my local chapter of College Democrats.

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, I love to go on runs or hikes (or now socially distanced walks). I enjoy writing poetry and reading any work I can to keep my mind sharp! Recently, I have been reading A Promised Land by Barack Obama.

Share a fun fact about yourself!

I have an obsession with soccer!

Meet the EcoReps- Francesca DiMare ’23

Hometown – Brockton, MA

Spring Location – On Campus

What is your favorite EcoRep project that you’ve done?

I really loved collaborating with PSCI to develop a carbon emissions calculator! It was such a great experience working with another sustainability group on campus, and the final product was very worthwhile!

How do you engage with sustainability?

I try to be really conscious of my consumer habits and work to make my own lifestyle as sustainable as possible, such as by using reusables and being conscious of the waste I produce. I also try to advocate for larger-scale action whenever possible.

What do you study and why?

Currently, I’m in the chemical and biological engineering department. I really love how it allows me to pursue my interests in materials science and sustainable energy, and gives me the flexibility to go into research or many other exciting fields! I also really love chemistry and am fascinated by understanding how things work when scaled up, and I hope to play a role in reducing emissions from chemical processes.

What other campus groups are you involved with?

I’m on the Kenya team in Engineers Without Borders, I tutor for McGraw, and I’m the events coordinator for the Princeton Chemical Society.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love ice skating, going on adventures (especially outdoors!), and watching too much Netflix for my own good.

Share a fun fact about yourself!

I’ve been skydiving!

Environmental Justice: A National Perspective

Research and Graphics by Saran Toure ‘22

Edited by Wesley Wiggins ‘21

The previous post discussed environmental justice through the lens of local New Jersey policy. This post zooms out to look at how the United States government and other national organizations have addressed Environmental Justice (EJ) issues. The two main pieces of federal legislation addressing EJ are the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Executive Order (E.O.) 12898

NEPA was signed into law on January 1st, 1970, and requires agencies to go through an evaluation process to determine the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their actions and involve affected communities in the evaluation2. This act specifically calls for the federal government to prepare Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Assessments (EA) which look at federal legislation and projects to evaluate the environmental impacts and potential alternatives and solutions to harmful impacts. Citizens can participate in these assessments during the scoping process through public meetings, workshops, hearings, and other means1.

This act is bolstered by E.O. 12898 which was ordered by former President Bill Clinton on February 16th, 1994. This act is also addressed as “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations”5. The purpose of the executive order was to focus more attention on environmental and health conditions that resulted from federal actions to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all communities. This order directs federal agencies to make a plan to address environmental injustice, promote non-discrimination in federal health and environmental programs, and provide information and participation opportunities to low-income and marginalized communities5.

Though these policies have done a lot for communities since they have been enacted4, there is still a lot more work that can be done on the national level to improve conditions for communities affected by environmental racism. There is also a lot that can be done by individuals to hold the government accountable like learning about the environmental impacts of federal agencies, participating in the NEPA process for your community, and voting in local and federal elections to protect and improve laws. Additionally, you can support national environmental justice agencies like Earth Justice6 and Protect NEPA4.

Sources:

  1. “How Citizens Can Comment and Participate in the National Environmental Policy Act Process.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. February 6, 2017. https://www.epa.gov/nepa/how-citizens-can-comment-and-participate-national-environmental-policy-act-process
  2. “What is the National Environmental Policy Act?” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. September 17, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/nepa/what-national-environmental-policy-act
  3. “Environmental Justice Timeline.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. June 2, 2017. https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-timeline
  4. “Environmental Justice” Protect NEPA. Accessed November 28, 2020. https://protectnepa.org/environmental-justice/
  5. “Summary of Executive Order 12898 – Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. July 23, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-executive-order-12898-federal-actions-address-environmental-justice
  6. “The Trump Administration Wants to Undo the People’s Environmental Law.” Earthjustice. August 31, 2020. https://earthjustice.org/features/nepa

Environmental Justice: Starting Locally in New Jersey

Research and Graphics by Lazarena Lazarova ‘21

Edited by Christopher Lugo ‘22

Environmental Justice (EJ) has come to be understood as a fundamental component of any comprehensive response to the environmental challenges of our contemporary moment. With the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, it has been foregrounded in conversations about racial justice and other issues around which activists center their work. New Jersey, in particular, has become one of the first state governments to address the needs of marginalized communities and implement environmental justice through legislation.

Before diving in, let’s touch briefly on the concept of environmental justice. What is it exactly, and how can we practice it? According to Green Action for Health and Environmental Justice, a multiracial grassroots organization, EJ is defined as “the values, rules, regulations, behaviors, policies, and decisions that support sustainability, where all people can hold with confidence that their community and natural environment is safe and productive”1.

New Jersey has taken promising but preliminary steps towards realizing that goal. One bill that was passed by the legislature into New Jersey state law on August 27, 2020 expands the purview of the Department of Environmental Protection. The effects of any proposed projects seeking a permit from the department on “overburdened communities” would have to be considered before the project could go forward. The bill defines “overburdened communities” as those with at least 50% of residents being low-income and 40% of residents being racial minorities or having limited English proficiency. Power plants and waste facilities like landfills and sewage treatment plants would have to reckon with the impact they impose on nearby overburdened communities. New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance has expressed support for the bill2,3.

In addition to this most recent effort, the legislature has passed reforms to the state’s learning standards, requiring all students to learn about climate change and the science behind it. There is hope that a more robust education in climate science will raise a generation of leaders and organizers who are both well-informed on the issue of climate change and acknowledge the urgency with which it must be addressed4. There is plenty our generation can do here and now, too. Volunteer with organizations like the Environmental Justice Alliance, lobby your local government to research and implement a climate action plan, and educate yourself on the links between racial justice and environmental justice. 

Sources:

  1. “Environmental Justice & Environmental Racism”. Green Action for Health and Environmental Justice. http://greenaction.org/what-is-environmental-justice/ 
  2. Warren, Michael Sol.“Landmark bill to protect poor communities from pollution just passed N.J. Legislature”. Nj.com – True New Jersey. August 28, 2020. https://www.nj.com/news/2020/08/landmark-bill-to-protect-poor-communities-from-pollution-just-passed-nj-legislature.html 
  3. Warren, Michael Sol and Brent Johnson. “Murphy backs plan to protect N.J. low-income communities from more pollution”. Nj.com – True New Jersey. June 19, 2020. https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/06/murphy-backs-plan-to-protect-nj-low-income-communities-from-more-pollution.html 
  4. White, Kimberly. “New Jersey Becomes First U.S. State to Require Schools to Teach Climate Change”. Planetary Press. June 17, 2020. https://www.theplanetarypress.com/2020/06/new-jersey-becomes-first-u-s-state-to-require-schools-to-teach-climate-change/#:~:text=The%20newly%20adopted%20guidelines%20make,educators%20over%20the%20past%20year