Update on Ecological Footprint

When I first calculated my Ecological Footprint, I was using 3.2 planets! I decided to rethink some of my daily activities to try and decrease my consumption.

I started to use my recycle mug more often, and I bring my cloth bag in to the grocery store, and even when I shop at the mall! I also started to by a lot of my groceries at the Co-Op so that I could buy more bulk items to reduce packaging. I also eat all locally grown organic fruits and vegetables.

I was able to reduce my planet size from 3.2 to 2.7

I will be able to continue my process on reducing my carbon imprint. I will also try and influence other people, like my friends and family to also do the same!

I also want to reduce my water use. I do take long hot showers and am now realizing the water depletion in other countries. Another thing I want to do but will be hard, is buying more sustainable clothing. Its still very expensive since the demand is down, but I will try and look for more options when shopping.

The one thing that might take me awhile to do is reduce my meat consumption. I tried the vegetarian thing for a few months but I just couldn't do it.

After taking my Marketing and Sustainability class I have been a lot more conscience on my daily activities. I also feel bad when I throw anything away I can’t recycle.

Goolge search "Know What Your Wearing"! Our cotton website shows up!

Or click HERE!

Greenwashing at WWU?!?!

In this weeks Western Front, there is an article pertaining the the new "biodegradable" plastic cups, that I normally buy my Iced Vanilla Latte when I forget my reusable mug and don't feel as bad.

According to this article each month Western sell about 9,000 of them!

The good thing is that it uses 65% less fossil fuels to produce compared to regular plastic cups, and also produce 80-90% less greenhouse gasses.

The "greenwashing" part of it all is what conditions it needs to be able to biodegrade. The cup "must be in an environment that is capable of reaching temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 consecutive days."

Especially in Washington when will it ever get to 140 degrees Fahrenheit... Maybe soon enough with the way our garbage habits our.

But the major problem is "where do we compost on campus?" I can think of two places Artzen and the VU. But there are so many lazy students... including me who don't want to walk all that way just to compost my coffee cup. According to the article "The compost bins are not found in more locations around campus because they are more expensive for Dining Services to keep than normal waste bins."

I like how our school is claiming to be "Green" parse but weren't not doing enough. I can think of numerous small things we could implement, instead of all these million dollar projects our university is spending on such as Replacing the Bricks!

Definitely go to this link to read the article because it's very interesting

BioMimicry

A new wave of air planes???

This is interesting I read this article on GreenBiz.com about how they are researching a way to reduce airplane emission by emulating "tiny ridges found on sharks' bodies, which can reduce skin-friction drag by about 5 percent. But Lockerby's team thinks the micro-jet system could end up reducing skin friction drag by as much as 40 percent."

This is a huge step in finding a way to reduce greenhouse gasses from airplanes. This would make flying way cheaper and use less gas. By boyfriends day is an airplane pilot and he said that it takes 10,000 gallons of gasoline to fly an airplane from Minnesota to Amsterdam.

Researchers believe they can have the new wings made by 2012. "The United Kingdom's air industry has set a goal of reducing its emissions per passenger by 50 percent in 2020"! Thats amazing, the US needs to step up their game!

Keep it Unplugged!!

After doing research and hearing about all sorts of ways on how to reduce my carbon footprint, one I came across surprised to me. One thing I read about was when you leave your phone charger plugged in the wall, even when you’re not charging your phone it’s still using electricity to charge. So you’re pretty much charging the air, which is going to waste and contributing to your carbon footprint.

Another fact I read was that the major parts of your house that contribute the most to carbon emission is the office and entertainment center. These parts of your house are full of electronics and most of the time they are in standby mode. Again, just because these electronics are in standby “phantom” mode they are still eating up electricity. The TV and DVD player use more electricity in a year in standby mode, then they do when you are actually using it.

I think by encouraging college students to reduce their carbon footprint by unplugging their electronic devices; we would see a huge drop in carbon emissions. I don’t consider myself tech savvy or anything, but I do own a lot of electronics. I’m sure there are many college students who own more electronics then I do, and with all the school and homework we do I bet the electronics are all on standby mode. That’s why a “Keep It Unplugged” campaign would be great to target WWU students.

The overall objective would be for student to become aware of the fact that when your electronics are plugged in, you are using electricity even when they are turned off. I want them while their leaving the house to think “Did I unplug my computer…..my entertainment center?”


"Cell phone chargers, TVs, DVD players, stereos, microwaves and other electronics with transformers continue to draw power, even when they're off or not charging anything, as long as they're plugged in. In the U.S., such "phantom electricity" emits about 12 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere a year, according to Conservation International." (Los Angles Times)


So it's easy.... Unplug your appliances when your done with them, or use a power strip and click the off button to save on your electric bill!

Do It Yourself House Hold Cleaners!!!

I read this article on some cheap and green ways to clean your house.
Nowadays were are being bombarded with all sorts of information and ways to read household cleaning product labels. Basically don't use a product if you can't pronounce the ingredient.
Here are some basic products, you probably have under your kitchen counter that can be used to clean your home safe and cheaply without the worry of picking the "right" green product. All's you need is a couple old rags, keep those old tooth brushes for hard to reach areas, and even reuse old spray bottles!

Here's what this article says.....

Baking soda: provides grit for scrubbing and reacts with water, vinegar or lemon by fizzing, which speeds up cleaning times
Borax: disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes; very handy in laundry mixes
Distilled white vinegar: disinfects and breaks up dirt; choose white vinegar over apple cider or red vinegars, as these might stain surfaces
Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfects and bleaches
Lemons: cut grease; bottled lemon juice also works well, although you might need to use bit more to get the same results
Olive oil: picks up dirt and polishes wood; cheaper grades work well
Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap: non-petroleum all-purpose cleaners
Washing soda: stain remover, general cleaner, helps unblock pipes; should be handled with gloves due to its caustic nature. Washing soda is usually found in the laundry aisle of grocery and drug stores.

WHOLE HOUSE

All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water

Mix in pail (or use smaller amounts in a spray bottle: 1/8 cup borax to 1 quart of hot water) dissolving the borax completely; wipe clean with rag.

Floors

Wood
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 gallon warm water

Linoleum
1 cup white vinegar
2 gallons warm water

Mix in mop bucket, rinse afterwards.

Furniture Polish
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil

Mix and apply with a clean rag to dust and polish. Reduce the olive oil if wood looks too oily.

Metal Polish

Copper and Brass
2 Tbsps salt
White vinegar

Add vinegar to salt until you've created a paste. Adding flour will reduce abrasiveness. Apply with a rag and rub clean.

Stainless Steel
Baking soda
White vinegar

Apply baking soda with a damp cloth, using the vinegar to eliminate spots.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/cleaning/diy-cleaners

Update on Ecological Footprint

So after recalculating my ecological footprint, I am now down to 2.7 planets...
I've been bringing my reusable mug to school, way more often
I've left a reusable bag in my car
I pretty much eat all organic fruit and vegetables, unless someone else has made dinner for me.

My next step is to rethink the way I buy my articles of clothing.
My group is currently doing an awareness project on the real facts on cotton, and how unsustainable it is on our planet. My new goal is to be more cautious on the way I spend my money on clothing.

I also need to work on lessening my consumption on eating meat. I really don't like the taste of tofu, but I know I need to work on trying new things. I'll start by purchasing a vegetarian cook book and start experimenting and let you know how I'm doing an post some favorite recipes.

Shampoo fo you

For my regular shampoo, I use Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Special Shampoo. I always assumed the Head and Shoulders brand of shampoo had some harsh stuff in it, so I decided to go with the Tea Tree shampoo. By the look of the green Paul Mitchell bottle and the use of Tea Tree, I assumed it was an all natural shampoo. They even donate a percentage of the proceeds to the American Forests, when you buy any of Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree products. All in all I thought I was being wise when I chose this product.

When I went to the Cosmetics Database website and entered in my shampoo, I was a little shocked to see that it was rated a 4. The one ingredient that scored the highest, which was a 7, was “DMDM HYDANTOIN” which is a known human immune system toxicant, and could be contaminated with Formaldehyde (a carcinogenic impurity which is linked to cause cancer, and affects development and reproductive organs). Second on the list with a score of 5 was “LAWSONIA INERMIS (HENNA)” which in one or more animal studies has show to cause brain and nervous system effects. There is also strong evidence of human immune and respiratory toxicant.

Since it only rated 4 out of 10, I will continue to use it until I’ve finished the bottle. Once I finish the bottle, I will switch to a more safe shampoo. I searched around the same website in order to see if I could find a lower rated scalp treatment shampoo, and I found once by the brand Herbaliz Shampoo which was rated 0. I went to their website http://www.herbaliz.com and they have an online catalog, which shows that it costs $12.50 for an 8oz bottle. You can only order it by email, telephone, or postal mail. This is a downfall for me because I to buy my products from an actually store or online store, so I have the comfort of knowing that I could take it back if I don’t like it.

What I’m going to do in light of the situation is go to the local Co-Op or the Saturday Market and look for a shampoo that may meet my needs, and I’ll read the label and if there is something I cannot pronounce, I will research it on the Cosmetics Database website to see how toxic it is. I’m now going to start aiming from a 0-2 hazard score.

Dandelion Organic Delivery

Dandelion Organic Delivery is a local, home-based family business serving the Bellingham community. Our service provides a convenient way to bring nourishing and delicious organic produce directly to you at a budget friendly price. We offer a flexible weekly or bi-monthly drop-off, right to your home or office.


I found a coupon for this organic delivery and took interest. I've very bad when it comes to going grocery shopping, and I always buy thinks that I don't need. I decided to give this a try.
There are three types of bin's you can purchase.
The harvest bin is $35, this one is good for families.
I purchased the Personal Harvest bin at $26, which has half the amount of fruit and vegetables.
You can also buy an all fruit bin at $35 and $26.

If you want you can also personalize your bin to have them include fruits and vegetables that you really like and don't like.

Another think I like about this service, other than getting fresh organic fruit and vegetables delivered right to my door, is that I can choose how often I want it delivered. They deliver every Tuesdays, but since I don't eat every much I get it delivered every other Tuesdays.

If you want to know more check out their website at http://www.dandelionorganic.com/

Sustainable Easter!

I was on the Environmental News Network site, and I came across this interesting story about reconsidering the chocolate you purchase. Since in class we've been talking about fair-trade coffee, this is just another item we should look for... Fair Trade CHOCOLATE!

Here is the short article...

Avoid "blood chocolate" for a sustainable Easter Celebration

"You’ve probably heard of "blood diamonds." But unfortunately diamonds aren’t the only commodity that is produced with slave labor. Many African cocoa produce "blood chocolate," at the cost of cruel labor practices and child abuse.

Africa, especially its Ivory Coast, is the world’s largest cocoa producer, according to a guest post on Treehugger.com by Ted Dworkin of the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store. ("The Bitter Truth About Chocolate.")

According to Dworkin, the US State Department has reported slavery on many of these cocoa farms, and the International Institute of Tropical agriculture reported in 2002 that nearly 284,000 children were working under unsafe conditions. Back in the United States chocolate manufacturers often don’t take responsibility for these unsafe working conditions, because they do not own the farms."

More and more people are becoming aware of this problem, which has started a chain reaction of chocolate brands on insisting slave-free chocolate. Since these big manufactures don't own these cocoa farms, they don't really take responsibility in making sure the work environment is safe. But Cadbury has decided that they plan to offer fair-trade certification on their most popular chocolate bar by the end of this summer. This is a huge step since their are very many organic/fair-trade chocolate at the local supermarket.

If you want to find out if your favorite chocolate brands are fair trade or not, click on this
Fair-Trade chocolate link!

So now I'm going to think twice before contributing to my chocolate cravings, and I'm going to make sure I see a fair-trade and organic label on the back of my chocolate bare before I eat it!

Ecological Footprint Calculation 3/31/09

So today I calculated my Ecological Footprint.... I have always thought of myself as quite environmentally conscience. I shop at the Co-Op, I recycle and compost and much as I can, I buy organic products, I walk to school and yet after calculating my foot print I found out that if everyone lived like me there would need to be 3.2 planets... 3.2 PLANETS!!!

Wow, and most of my consumption is in services (54%) that cause the most environmental carbon impact. SO I probably need to rethink some things over... What am I doing wrong?

A couple small things I know I can do, but I just need to remember is always taking my own bag to the grocery store. I have about three of them, but when I go to the grocery store it's always on a whim... Maybe by keeping one in my car at all times will solve this problem, or just a little planning.

Another thing I can do is just remembering to bring my water bottle and/or coffee mug to school to cut down garbage. I have tons of these laying around my house I just need to remember to take them to school. I can also just make my own coffee at home so that I can control what coffee to dink, such as Fair-Trad and organically grown option. I mean do I really know for sure if the coffee I'm buying on campus even pays their workers a decent wage... Nope.

I also going to pledge to purchase products that use less packaging or are made out of 100% post-consumer content material. I've already slowly started to adapt this concept. It's really easy to shop at the Co-op to do this since they have a huge bulk foods section. I can even bring in my own containers and fill up on shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, soap, peanut butter, olive oil, spices, and tons of other things. I wouldn't be buying and added packaging which would makes the cost of the product go down, and in this dismal economy this is a great option for everybody.

So these are the main actions I'm going to commit to work on to reduce my weekly carbon footprint during this quarter, and after I accomplish these goals I will make an effort to work on three more!