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!

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.

Share and Voice: Sara's Table Restaurant

I noticed from my previous post that some of you have never heard of or at least have never been to the restaurant, Sara's Table.  So, I decided to inform you about this lovely little restaurant.  I also figured that since my lifestyle change involves going to the restaurant,  I thought this might give you a better visual as to what I am actually doing, haha!

I felt the article, 'At Sara's Table Chester Creek in Duluth, MN,' really informs us about the restaurant really well.  The article was written earlier this year so I can only assume this is the most current information regarding the restaurant.  Once you finish reading the article, let me know if you would like to go check it out and I would be more than happy to meet up with you to go to the restaurant; or maybe we should see if our class could go there as an 'end of semester' celebration field-trip!  Though, I will admit some items on the menu may get a little pricey.

The article mentions how the goal of the restaurant is to create a 'farm-to-table' restaurant to promote local sustainability.  What this means is that the restaurant receives most of the food they serve from local farmers/gardeners.  In the summer approximately 80% of the food served is local and in the winter the percentage close 45% of the food is local.  The article continues on discussing how the owners of the restaurant receive their menu items.

What I really enjoy about Sara's Table is also the fact that they do more than just serve food!  The article mentioned that they are also leading the Duluth community in composting.  They have a drop off center located in the restaurant that takes all composting items brought in to the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District.  They also promote and support many other organizations in the Duluth community.

Needless to say, Sara's Table is a great restaurant implementing a great cause!

Share and Voice: Wall-E Film a Teaching Tool?

A little while ago I was babysitting my boyfriend's nephew (who's 4 years-old) and we began watching the film created by Disney and Pixar, Wall-E.  As we viewed the movie it occurred to me how much Wall-E sends a futuristic picture of what the world will look like if we continue to consume and produce trash the rate we do.  Throughout the film the nephew would ask questions such as 'Why don't the people live on Earth?' and 'How come there's so much garbage everywhere?'  I realized that Wall-E was a great way for me to inform the nephew about the world and how we need to take care of it, otherwise it will disappear.  The film was a great visual for the nephew to see and gave him an idea of what the world could end up looking like.  So I would encourage all of you to know that even younger children can learn and begin to grasp an idea of how important the earth truly is.  We may inform them we need to take care of the earth and let it grow naturally like they do at the end of the movie.  If you're having a difficult time simply explaining it to them, rent the Wall-E movie and have them compare-and-contrast how Wall-E's world is different from ours and how we can help prevent it from getting to that condition.  Has anyone else noticed a fun and/or creative way we may let younger children know how vital the earth is?

Share and Voice: Schiefelbein Farms

The above video is a brief documentary created last year regarding the history of Schiefelbein Farms - my family's farm back home.  I thought this might be informative for you since this whole post is regarding the farm I grew up on.  Just a side note, everyone that is in this video I am related to in some form - Frank Schiefelbein, who is interviewed, is actually my brother (people say we look alike)!


A few notes about my family's farm: 

• The farm is currently in the top five largest farms in the state; and about 22nd nationwide.
• The size of the farm extends to approximately 4,000 acres.
• We primarily raise beef, particularly black Angus cattle.
• There are an estimated 3,100 cattle head; 600 are cows and calves, 2,500 are used for meat

What inspired this post was the documentary we recently viewed in class on Monday.  After viewing the class video I really began to wonder, 'What precautions does my family's farm take in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly?'  So to find some answers I decided to contact my dad, Frank Schiefelbein, III who gave me a brief overview of what farms may do to be more environmentally friendly.


"When it comes to feeding the cows," said Frank, "We tend to let them roam about the fields and graze on the grass, and this may occur from the end of spring and into the beginning of winter (depending on when snowfall arrives).  The land they graze on is land we purchased that is typically known as having 'too many hills' or 'too rocky.'  Since our family's profession is farming we can actually afford to purchase land that has been labeled as 'eroded' and replenish it so that we use it as pasture land for the cattle or use it to grow crops."  Frank went on to discuss, "1/4 of the acres the farm owns are 'out of production,' which means that we do not use them and allow grass to grow in this area and the areas are rotated every year."


"Now once winter arrives, obviously, it's difficult for us to allow the cows to graze on grass so we then feed the cows bi-products.  These bi-products are often used by companies and then discarded so what we do is purchase the material that would be discarded and feed the cows.  The discarded materials are not harmful or 'bad,' the companies simply do not need them for their product and thus just discard them.  By us purchasing those bi-products we are able to purchase them at a discount rate and it also produces less waste for the environment.  Bi-products we use are 'wet-distillers' which derive from plants containing alcohol, these are known as 'wet-distillers, once the alcohol has been taken out."  More bi-products used include corn-gluten (a syrup often left-over once it's been used for pop) and sweet corn silage (made available by vegetable processing plants)."  


"We have also begun to use something called 'Earlage.'  This is where you take off ears of corn and chop them up.  What's great about this technique is that it does not really involving a combining tractor and no use of propane is used at all."  Frank went on to mention that once they have gone through the fields the cows then come through and graze the residue.


"Another  precaution we perform has to do with the cow's manure.  We actually collect the cow's manure and place it into a confinement barn, which we collect and store all winter.  Once it comes time to fertilize the land we use the cow's manure to naturally fertilize instead of purchasing pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.  We conduct a more 'natural' process and it seems as if it continues to work in a circle, where we harvest the land to feed the cows and the cows give us the fertilizer to harvest the land."


I know it seems that most farms are really harming the environment, though there are some farms that are trying to do their part in preserving the environment.  As health educators, we can use farms similar to Schiefelbein Farms to encourage other corporations to consider switching over to a more 'green' approach when it comes to farming.

Share and Voice: New SunChips 100% Compostable Package

Above is a brief advertisement I retrieved from YouTube of SunChips new compostable package.  If you have seen any SunChips commercials lately or strolled past their chip bags in the grocery store then you may be aware that the SunChips manufacturers have recently gone public with their 100% compostable packaging, the first company to produce an environmentally friendly bag.


Though it seems the SunChips company may be taking a step backward in progress, instead of forward.  Between late-September to early October SunChips will only be producing compostable bags for their Original flavor of chips while the other flavors will return to their old, traditional packaging.


Why the switch?  It appears the public has not fully warmed up to the company's new form of packaging.  The company has received an enormous amount of feedback from consumers regarding their un-satisfaction with the noise the new bags create.  So for the time being, the company will be temporarily converting back to their old packaging as they investigate other compostable packaging options.


I feel this is sad on two accounts.  First, I do realize that SunChips is a company and their primary objective is to satisfy customers, however, I feel that if they really wanted to be known as a 'green' company they would continue to use the 100% compostable bags until they discovered a more 'friendly' bag.  Instead, it seems they are taking a step backwards due to the company seeking consumer satisfaction over their concern for sustaining the environment.  The second, it seems the public is more concerned about how much noise the bag makes over being happy knowing that the SunChips company is taking precautions to help the sustain the planet.


I have purchased SunChips since the compostable bag has been released and I will admit the bag is a little louder than other chip packages, however, I have always been able to overlook that minor issue because I know the bags are benefiting the health of  the environment.  As a future health educator learning why SunChips is reverting back to their traditions bags reminds me that people are having difficulties recognizing how vital and fragile the earth really is.  All the more for us to go out to the public and help educate them on environmental health!

Share and Voice: Water Footprint Calculator

(Cartoon selected from the National Geographic website)

I figured since earlier this week we took an assessment based on the ecological footprint we are leaving I thought it would be neat to see what kind of a 'water footprint' we are leaving.

Surprisingly the average U.S. citizen consumes about 1,981 gallons of water per day!  The quiz asks you questions regarding water used in your home, in your diet, for transportation and energy, and also water used by your stuff and once you have finished it shows how much water you consume in each category.  I took the quiz - which took me no longer than 5 minutes - and I was informed I use approximately 1,315 gallons per day.  Compared to the average American my score is considerably low, however, I still feel that the number is large and I will be looking into how to reduce the number even more.

I really encourage you to take the Water Footprint Calculator quiz as well to discover what your average water consumption is!  The quiz is actually kind of fun to take because the duck does different things depending on what you check!

Just a side note, the National Geographic website also has a specific tab regarding the environment, which includes a broad range of topics from energy to natural disasters.

Share and Voice: St. Louis County Health and Human Service Conference

This past Tuesday, October 5th, I traveled down to the DECC to host one of the seminars scheduled for the Annual St. Louis County Health and Human Service Conference.  The topic of my seminar was 'God Does Not Take Sides,' however, that's actually not what I want to discuss.  What I found to be most interesting, or ironic even, about the event was what I witnessed on my way there.  I was walking down the street crossing over from the Famous Dave's parking lot over to where the little lift bridge is.  The bridge was up so I had to take a minor detour route to the right where I passed by numerous sail boats, past the Irwin Tour Ship, and into the parking lot of the DECC and the Duluth 10 Movie theater.  

As I was walking along there were several people headed in the same direction as myself and judging by the 'Recycle' tote bags they were carrying on their shoulders I could tell these people had been this way before.  Though regardless of the tote bags I noticed something else that was rather disappointing.  You see most of them were smoking as they were walking along!  As we traveled down the sidewalk I noticed that out of the eight people I was walking with 1/2 of them had a cigarette in hand.  I found this to be ironic in the fact that these people were attending an event about health, however, outside of the event most of them were smoking and puffing away their health.  Once I reached the entrance of the building I was kindly greeted by the second-hand smoke of several others who were sitting and waiting outside, again, smoking.  I briefly glanced into the cigarette trays placed outside the front doors and noticed that several new butts had been placed into it.  

Now, I neither want to give an unpleasant impression of the event, since the seminar I hosted was very informative; nor do I want to get into a big debate about smoking since I know it may be a sensitive subject, however, I just can't help but wonder what kind of a message we are portraying to the public.  What I mean is that if someone off of the street were to walk up to someone attending the event and ask what event the DECC was hosting I feel they may be slightly put off when they learn it's a conference based around health and notice all of the people smoking around them.  It's seems to be an oxymoron when you think about it.  I realize that we cannot ask people to not smoke entirely throughout the event, though I wonder if there isn't a better way to take care of the smoking situation. Two steps I thought could possibly be considered for next years conference would be to have a seminar topic of smoking and how to smoke in a 'healthy' manor.  The other would be to possibly have areas set up for the people to specifically be able to smoke in.  I'm not sure how likely those steps are, I just feel that at a health event more precautions could be taken when it comes to dealing with health to show people that we do take health seriously.

Share and Voice: A Note from Your Local School Librarian, Liz Johnson

As I was at work earlier this week, as most of you are aware I work at the university's library, I began pondering on which environmental topic to choose for my first 'Share and Voice' post. Looking past the front counter and out to the rows of endless books I began to wonder if, and how, our library was doing their part in keeping our environment healthy.  I investigated the subject by briefly interviewing with one of my supervisors, Liz Johnson, Interim Team Manager of Circulation Services.

The major question proposed to her asked, 'What precautions has the library taken to help preserve the environment and cut back on consumer products?' Liz was quick to answer the questions breaking it into three main categories: building, staff, and books.

Liz replied, "A few years after the current library building opened, which was in 2000, it was suggested the library obtain upgraded light fixtures that would be more energy efficient and would last longer.  Since that time, the library has upgraded the light fixtures in the elevators to LED lighting and in the stairwells." Liz did mention that recently students may have noticed the stairwells have been a little darker than usual.  "The Facilities Management has actually been able to find and purchase LED bulbs that are even more energy efficient than before, however, the new bulbs have not arrived yet."

As we moved on in conversation, Liz discussed how staff have been putting their efforts forward to reduce consumer product intake.  "Just this summer the library staff held their first annual 'Supply Swap.'  The event was to encourage staff to clean out their offices and donate any office supplies they weren't using.  Then those supplies were collected and set up in the 4th floor rotunda on display where staff, and eventually the public, were allowed to go through and collect any items they could use."  According to Liz, the event was a big success, with 28 out of 32 employees donating supplies it seemed everyone enjoyed the event.  "Staff were happy to have more free space in their offices and it was a great way for others to utilize old and unused supplies."  Along with the 'Supply Swap' library staff have always been encouraged to recycle, with recycling bins accessible in every office and in most open spaces.

It seems when the term 'library' is used it is most often related with books.  So, of course, I could not write this post without mentioning how the library cares for and discards books.  Liz informed me, "Throughout recent years technology has had a major influence on how the library functions.  Most people are searching for online sources before coming to the library to view our books."  In response to that the library is beginning to offer more online resources, such as professional journals, and are putting a halt to ordering 'hard-copies.'  "We feel there is little point of having more magazines and journals being printed and sent to the library if most students are going online and accessing the same product there.  Utilizing the internet for research is much easier for student to access, since they can obtain the article anytime, anywhere."  

That's not the only benefit of online resourcing, though, since less printed copies are being ordered, more trees are being saved!  Since online sources have been so popular the library is searching for more ways to reduce printed goods.  "The library is beginning to copy all theses onto an online program."  After she mentioned this, I couldn't help but question where all the printed theses are going and what happens to old books the library would like to dispose of.  Liz replied, "We do have affiliations with online companies that resell the books for us.  The companies give us a list of book subjects they will accept and re-sell them to patrons online.  The library has also set up a system with facilities on campus that take any books that aren't sold online to be unbound and stripped from their cover.  Once the cover is taken off the body of the book is then placed into a big, yellow recycling bin where they will be taken to a recycling business."

All-in-all, I would have to say the library is doing a great job, thus far, at trying to preserve trees and conserve energy and this makes me a very happy employee!

Welcome to Sonny Days Ahead!

My name is Sonny and I am currently a college student pursuing a degree in Health Education with an emphasis on Community Health.  Spinning off from my blog title, my blog's content will entail information involving 'looking ahead.'  We will be researching and viewing what is going on in the environment now and precautions that are being taken to prevent this, or reducing the chances of this, from happening in the future.

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.


The members of my web group are:

1. Kristen M@Kristens Atmosphere
2. Callie@Ecofriendly with Calista
3. Heidi@Heidis Healthy Environment
4. Kara@Karas Coming Clean
5. Danielle@Tree Hugging with Dani
6. Ashley@Ashleys Fresh Air Atmosphere
7. Casey@Caseys Green Daydream

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."


I hope you find this blog to be not only entertaining but informative as well.  Thanks for stopping by and remember, no matter how today seems there will always be 'Sonny Days Ahead!'