Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: 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 did really well in achieving my goal this past week.  Between my roommates and myself we were able to fill up a full bag of compostable materials.  I even dropped off all of the carved pumpkins that we still had sitting on our front steps from Halloween! The only portion of my SMART goal that I did not stick with was the time I dropped off the bag of compost. I actually dropped the bag off on Saturday afternoon instead of on Friday.

Where I succeeded in my goal was taking all scrap pieces of my food and placing it into the composting bag.  What I did to help me be successful in this area was I continued to place the composting bag on my shelf in the fridge which has been a great spot to remind me that once I'm finished eating I should compost any food possible. 

My roommates also helped me succeed. In my house we really like to cook food from scratch and so whenever someone had scrap pieces of materials or food I would mention that they could simply place the materials in the composting bag. One way this has been helpful is because now everyone in my house is composting and it's not just me; and that my house is actually encouraging and reminding one another to place the food into the compost bag.  This also helps me because than there is more of a reason for me to walk up to Sara's Table.  If I had been doing this on my own I would have had a lot less food in the bag and because my roommates put their materials in there as well I have more to drop off at the end of the week.

One challenge that I encountered was I realized that I get done with work at 10am.  The reason I chose that time frame was because I thought I could drop off the bag at Sara's Table on my way home from work, however, I realized when I got up Friday morning that I would have to let the bag sit in my car until I finished work and I really did not want my car to smell or, even worse, having the possibility of the bag leaking as it sat. This week was also a little more difficult because I knew I wanted to take our old pumpkins and drop them off as well and since there were a total of five I knew I would have to drive the two blocks up the hill from my house to Sara's Table instead of walking like I imagined. To be honest, the reason I succeeded in finally driving up the hill to drop off my items was the mere fact that I was tired of having to go around the pumpkins in order to get into my house. They were also starting to rot and the sight of them made me feel our home seemed unclean and uninviting.

After I dropped of the items into the bin I felt great! I know it wasn't much but I felt that my little extra effort and time put into the lifestyle change really paid off. As soon as I placed the items into the bin it felt as though I was actually taking action and initiative in helping out the environment! I wasn't necessarily just learning information and 'storing' it away in my mind for later, I was actually doing what I learned and putting it into practice and good use!

This past week I learned how fast and accessable the composting bin was. I had never ventured over to the drop-off spot before and I learned that the bin is located outside. This made me really excited because then if I ever do run late for dropping off the bag I can still go and drop it off at any time, and do not have to necessarily wait for the restaurant to open.

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.  The one thing I will change is the time.  Friday at 10-10:30am just does not seem to do it, so I will change the time from Fridays to Wednesdays at 10:30-11am.  I am doing this to synchronize with our weekly blog posts as well as I figure with Thanksgiving just around the corner I will have enough food to make a trip to the composting site earlier!

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy @ Amy in the Rain.

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

http://www.photos8.com/

Introduction

What is the issue/problem?

Finding and allowing access to alternative modes of transportation to reduce traffic air-pollution emission.  A current legislation proposed to address this concern is H.R. 4722 Active Community Transportation Act of 2010.

Who is affected by the issue?

Who is affected the most? - Citizens who live or work in urban settings are exposed to higher rates of traffic-air pollution due to these areas having higher populations and higher usage of automotive transportation.  This means larger amounts of toxins are emitted and released into the air of a certain perameter.

Who loses, what do they lose? - Citizens in urban settings lose breathing in clean air and have an increased risk of mortality and morbidity rates.

Who gains, and what do they gain? - City businesses and political parties gain money profit by providing goods and services related to the citizen's needs.

What are the consequences of the issue?

For the individuals mostly affected? - Citizens who work or live within urban settings have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality rates occuring.

For their families? - Families' financial stability decreases as poor health results.  Children who grow up in these settings are also very likely to develop health complications early in life and may have a difficult time working productively as they age.

For society? - Citizens who do have poor health often have to miss work due to illness and may have a decrease in work productivity.  An increase in the number of doctor visits may result, which will cost the individual and their company health insurance funds.  When an employee's productivity decreases the productivity of the company decreases as well.

What is the economic impact of the issue?

What are the economic costs of the issue, and who bears these costs? - An economy is stable when the city is stable.  If company's in the city are not able to sustain their income and make a gross profit then the company begins to struggle, ie. companies go out of business.  Citizens bear the most weight of the costs since if a company does go out of business the citizen is now unemployed and is forced to seek other options, whether it be finding another job or moving to another city.

What are the economic benefits of the issue, and who benefits? - The city would grow through the increasing returns and profit that would go to companies in the city.  Citizens would have lower mortality and morbidity rates enabling them to work longer and more efficiently.

What is the social impact of the issue?

What are the social costs of the issue, and who bears these costs? - Families may not be able to afford participating in social events due to a family member having poor health conditions.  If the citizen becomes physically unable to work the city may have to help support the family through financial compensation.

What are the social benefits of the issue, and who benefits? - Companies may benefit from this issue since citizens rely on purchasing goods, such as gasoline, in order to travel to and from their destinations.

What are the barriers?

What are the barriers to addressing this issue? - Deciding how to fund and who will fund the intial investments necessary to incorporate the issue in the community. Citizens who may not want the potential increase in their taxes may not be supportive. There will also be companies within the city who will be strongly opposed to the issue and refuse to support the issue.

How can they be overcome? - The city and community may fundraise and receive donations. Approaching and educating citizens and companies opposed to supporting the issue.  Inform them of the pros and cons of the situation and how their families and companies would benefit after the issue is addressed.

What are the resources?

What resources will we need to address this issue? - Providing educational opportunities for the citizens, companies, and political offices to partake in so they may be fully aware and fully informed of the issue. Provide funding and implementation for educational programs.

Where and how can they be tapped? - Environmental and health educators may educate citizens, companies, and political offices about health risks related to traffic air-pollution.  Funding necessary for the projects may be acquired through donations from supportive agencies or fundraising through supporting companies and events.  Getting agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involved.  Lobbying and educating resources may come from trained volunteers who support the issue.

What is the history of this issue?

What is the history of the issue in the community? - Citizens within the community have decided to choose alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit or biking.  A majority of citizens continue to use automotive transportation as their main mode of transport.

What past efforts were made to address it? - More efforts such as creating bike paths and sidewalks have been implemented.

What were the results? - Citizens did begin to utilize the sidewalks and bike paths; however, paths often did not connect up at some point with the citizen's destination or was not the most convenient option.  So citizens continue to use automotive transportation.

Allies & Opponents

Who would support this issue? - Environmental Protective Agency, hospitals, environmentalists, health educators, citizens who have suffered poor health as a result of traffic air-pollution.

Who would oppose this issue? - Gas stations, hospitals, auto-repair shops, car dealerships due to less business which could result in layoff of employees and/or the company going out of business.

How can you involve allies and opponents in advocacy efforts? - Reminding companies that they need healthy workers in order to effectively and continually grow in size and finances. Could mention that traffic air-pollution, if not changed, will greatly affect the health of generations to come.  Suggest gas stations, auto-repair shops, and car dealerships offer supplies to provide maintenance services and tools for alternative transportation items, such as bicycles.

Your Recommendation

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