Share and Voice: Eco-Friendly Bags

'Tis the season to go shopping, right?  So why not help sustain the environment by bringing your own bags to tote your goodies and findings in?

That being said I'm sure it's no surprise for me to tell you that many stores are now encouraging customers to make a switch from paper and plastic bags to reusable bags, such as tote bags.  These bags may be purchased for approximately $1-2 a piece and are generally - and conveniently - located at the front of the stores near the checkout registers.

One of my old roommates informed me once that in Canada reusable bags are quite popular, although that may be because most stores there actually charge their customers a fee if they choose to use  paper or plastic bags.  I feel this is a great way to motivate people to purchase the bags; I feel the customers may be motivated to purchase the bags since purchasing reusable bags once will actually save them customers money by the end of each shopping trip!

Often when you see the eco-friendly, reusable bags the bags generally have some sort of catchy phrase imprinted on it to let you know that the bag is to promote going green and leading an eco-friendly.  One example would be the Kohl's 'buyology'  bags.  These bags have been designed to resemble a word definition, similar to one you would find in a dictionary.  As you can tell they changed the spelling of 'biology' to 'buyology' to give the bags a clever incentive and following afterwords was the phrase '1. The science of shopping green.  2.  A selfless act in which today's living, shopping organisms carry reusable totes to offset the overabundance of plastic bags.  3.  A simple way to support the environment and living matter in all its forms.'

I think this is a clever way to encourage eco-friendly habits as well as allowing the company to do a little marketing.  I really enjoy how they created the word 'buyology' and gave it a meaning, in fact I liked it so much, I purchased the bag!

As I was searching online I also found a website that sells a number of eco-friendly bags, from ogranic bags, to bags made from recyclable materials to bags that can biodegrade once you are finished with them!

Finally, the last piece of information I would like to share is that if you do have a plethora of plastic bags at your home that you really don't use the UMD bookstores have an area located in the stores where you may drop off the bags to be recycled.

Now that you have been debriefed on eco-friendly bags I encourage you to go out and save money - and the environment - by utilizing reusable bags!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

I will place any extra food I have after each meal into a bucket to be dropped off and composted at Sara's Table Restaurant (a composting site) each Friday between 10 - 10:30am. 

I feel I did moderately well in achieving this goal, however, I only fulfilled part of my SMART goal.  I have to be honest, though, when Friday came last week I felt I did not have enough materials to bring to the composting site.

Where I succeeded in my goal was taking all scrap pieces of my food and placing it into the composting bag I picked up earlier in the week.  What I did to help me be successful in this area was I knew that I would need to place the bucket with the composting bag in a spot where I would see the bucket quite often and constantly be reminded to compost; so I placed the bucket on my shelf in the fridge. I placed the bucket there because I figured that whenever I open the fridge it's generally because I am hungry and want to eat and now when I raid the fridge to find food I remember that when I am finished eating I am placing the scraps of my meal into the bucket.

One challenge that I encountered was I realized that I was not sure which foods could be placed into the composting bucket!  I realized this after I had informed my roommates that I was going to begin composting my food and encouraged them to place anything they could no longer use into the bucket as well.  They were really excited to hear this and then began asking me questions about what could be composted and I concluded I wasn't sure.  I figured that in order for me to successfully fulfill my SMART goal I needed to do some research on the topic and so that's what I did.

I had mixed emotions about how I felt towards my goal.  I really began to feel a little nervous when I was about to start the new goal and deciding how to go about composting.  I also felt confused and panicked when my roommates began to ask questions regarding what could be composted.  I felt this way because my roommates see me at the 'healthy' one and for them to ask me questions about a healthy topic that I didn't know much about.  Though, after doing some research and analyzing the topic I felt relatively confident and was able to successfully inform them about the subject.

This past week what I really learned, as I'm sure you've noticed, how and what to compost!  I learned that more items may be composted than I thought!  Items such as macaroni and cheese tea bags, and even Elmer's glue!

I plan to continue with the same goal as before and place any excess or outdated items into the composting bucket and bring the bucket to the composting site at the end of the work week.  I feel one of the most challenging obstacles is to actually bring the bucket to the composting site so after this week I will know if I can continue with this goal or not!

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.

Share and Voice: ECO - Environmentally Conscious Options Store

If you haven't noticed yet, I am very intriqued as to what efforts Duluth has been taking to help the community become more environmentally friendly along with how the city is setting a 'green' example for other cities to follow.

That being said as my roommate and I were headed to downtown Duluth this past week we were stopped at a stoplight and while we were waiting I noticed a store adjacent to us with the name 'ECO - Environmentally Conscious Options.'  The store's location is 400 W Superior St.  I had never heard of it before so what did I do, of course, I searched on the internet for their website!
 After browsing through the website it seems like it would be a pretty fun store to visit.  The objective of the store is to offer healthy and environmentally friendly products at affordable prices to home builders and people who are remodeling their homes.  They have products that range from flooring and countertops to drawer handles made from rocks and recycled glass! 

They also host various workshops and classes about having an eco-friendly home.  Plus, the website even has a 'living green tip' tab on the left side of the website to give you helpful hints on how to maintain and keep a green home!
Am I just way behind the times or is there anyone else who has never heard of this store?  I think it sounds like a great addition to the Duluth community.

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

http://www.photos8.com/

HealthyPeople 2010 goal - Environmental Health Sub-Objective 8-2. Increase use of alternative modes of transportation to reduce motor vehicle emissions and improve the Nation’s air quality.

Update on the progress: Bicycling has moved 11% AWAY from target goal, walking has moved 59% TOWARD target goal, and transit has moved 11% AWAY from target goal.

Progress of goal: Increasing the number of trips made by walking (8-2b) achieved 59 percent of the targeted change.  Unfortunately no elimination of disparities regarding the goal were mentioned.

Opportunities and challenges facing goal: The overall strategy includes a combination of regulatory, market-based, and voluntary programs that target emissions regarding motorized vehicles. EPA programs address three key air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. They aim to reduce smog, fine particles, visibility impairment, and nitrogen and mercury deposition, using a proven, market-based approach that encourages the use of new and cleaner pollution control technologies.  Through community assessments local hot spots that may exist will be identified, however, measuring improvements in outdoor air quality and human health remains a challenging issue.

Emerging issues concerning goal: Not all counties have monitoring stations; therefore, data may not be available for some populations.  Also, the amount of air pollutants emitted per mile from cars has been greatly reduced. However, these benefits are offset by the continuing increase in vehicle miles traveled and the popularity of light-duty trucks, SUVs, and minivans, which emit more pollution.

H.R.4722 Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 (Introduced in House)
Title: To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active transportations within selected communities by providing safe and convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] (introduced 3/2/2010)

Cosponsors (first 5 out of 73): Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] 3/16/2010; Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1] 4/13/2010; Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3], 3/2/2010; Rep Cleaver, Emanuel [MO-5] 4/13/2010; Rep Connolly, Gerald E. "Gerry" [VA-11] 4/14/2010.

Latest Major Action: 3/3/2010 Referred to House subcommittee.

Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Recommendation: Vote Yes for H.R. 4722 Active Community Transportation Act of 2010

My Political Representative(s): Congressman James L. Oberstar