What happens after we throw things away? How can industrial societies do a better job of turning wastes into resources? Those are the central questions I’m interested in. My current research ranges from how we can turn Kalamazoo’s waste kitchen greases into biodiesel for use in public fleets in our area (see Bronco Biodiesel) to exploring how Toronto’s trash wound up coming to Michigan landfills, and the choices facing Michigan and Ontario for reducing their waste streams. I also keep an eye on garbage and recycling in Mexico, particularly along the northern border, where since 1992 I’ve studied what people throw away, and how garbage politics get wrapped up in immigration and trade politics.

For Environmental Studies, I teach ENVS 3600 (Culture, Values and Environment) which explores how both industrial and non-industrial societies cope with the challenges of scarce resources, waste production, and the balance between population and sustainability. In ENVS 4500 (Senior Seminar) I introduce students to biodiesel and coordinate their projects with the Biodiesel Co-op of Kalamazoo, a WMU Registered Student Organization that makes biodiesel with and for community members.

Publications           

Recent Journal Articles:

“Philadelphia’s Trap of Grease: National Energy Policy vs. Urban Realities” in Public Works Management and Policy, Spring 2007, (forthcoming).

“Purity and Danger on the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1990-1994” in South Atlantic Quarterly, Fall 2006. Vol.105(4)777-800.

“The Chamizal Tipping Point?: El Paso’s Garbage in 1910” in Passwords, The Quarterly Journal of the El Paso County Historical Society, Fall 2005. Vol. 50(3)142-149.

“The Trouble with Toronto’s Trash” in Rhizome, Newsletter of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada, Nov. 2005. Vol. 15(1)12-13.
“The Wasted Resources of Mexicanidad: Consumption and Disposal on Mexico’s Northern Frontier” in The Social Relations of Mexican Commodities: Power, Production, and Place. Casey Walsh, Elizabeth Emma Ferry, Gabriela Soto Laveaga, Paolo Sesia and Sarah Hill. La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego: 157-185.