EarthX has a huge variety of topics to explore. I thought that there would be more of a focus on water since that was advertised as the main theme but I was glad that there was such an array. On Saturday we were able to talk to representatives of several companies including Poet, Ecos, and Tetrapak and later in the evening we watched a film called "Cooked: Survival by Zip Code."
The first booth that we stopped at in the massive convention building was for the company Poet. Poet is an ethanol company that uses its excess corn product as a livestock feed after the starch is removed. We were skeptical about this since cows aren't supposed to eat corn but the company representative assured us that the starch was removed so the feed was fine for the animals. I asked how the corn is grown for the ethanol and he told us that they buy corn from a wide variety of farms but that none of them are organic. He said that people wouldn't pay more for organic fuel so they wouldn't pay more for the organic corn. He explained that organic corn is grown for human consumption and that the dented corn that is used for producing ethanol isn't grown under organic conditions.
We also talked to an Ecos representative. Ecos is a laundry detergent company that's doing many things to ensure good business practices. The representative seemed very excited to share all that the company provided for its employees as well as the environment. They have a chef that cooks their factory-workers food, and zero-waste policy, a net zero water and carbon policy. The representative gave us some sample bottles of their lavender and original detergents that I'm excited to try out. When we asked him about the plastic packaging the admitted that it was still a major issue and that the company was looking into several different solutions. He said they'd experimented with refill stations that he compared to a soft-drink dispenser, but apparently consumers didn't utilize them. He also said in the future they may have a refill system that involves door-to-door delivery and pickup of empty bottles. Another solution, he said, was to make the bottles out of alternative materials such as stainless steel or plant-based plastic.
Finally we walked to the large interactive information area for Tetrapak, the company that provided all the water cartons for EarthX. Before talking to anyone we were asked if we'd like to have a picture taken. After the picture we were able to see how Tetrapak cartons are recycled. The man giving the demonstration explained that the cartons are comprised of three layers: paper, aluminum, and a polymer. These layers need to be separated in order for the recycling process to take place. In order to do this, the cartons have to be blended with water and then the different pieces are separated. Apparently this process is not able to be performed in regular recycling facilities and most of the ones that can do this are located in Europe. There are a few facilities that are able to process Tetrapak in the US. We asked where the cartons from EarthX would be recycled and, after hesitating, the woman we were talking to said she believed that they would be recycled in Wisconsin. I wonder about the carbon costs for transporting all these cartons to Wisconsin in order for them to be recycled.
Later in the day we watched the movie "Cooked; Survival by Zip Code" about the injustices in disaster preparedness and response specifically in the case of the 1995 Chicago heatwave. The movie was tragic but also funny and overall extremely informative. I learned so much and am so glad that we decided to watch this film. After the movie showing we stayed for a Q&A with the director and there was a lot of interesting dialogue exchanged. Overall Saturday was extremely informative and gave us a good understanding of how EarthX works. I'm very thankful that we were able to attend EarthX and learn so much about many aspects of environmentalism. Although we attended with a critical eye, we found that there were many good companies and initiatives that are genuinely working to improve the state of the environment.
