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!

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second Quarter of "Do One Thing Green"

For the second quarter I read the second section or part of the book.  This time the primary topic of discussion was regarding ‘A Green and Healthy Home.’  This section included chapter’s six to 10 and expanded from page 77 to 149.

The overall main topic, as I mentioned, was about maintaining a green home so each chapter tied into that category.  Chapter 6 focused on appliances, chapter 7 on lighting, chapter 8 on saving water, chapter 9 on simple green housekeeping, and chapter 10 on reduce, reuse, recycle.

After reading the second section of the book I would have to say there were 3 main pieces of information I found to be most significant and surprising.  

1.  Lighting accounts for 20% of our energy use.  When it comes to lighting I have always been a fanatic about making sure lights are turned off when no one's using them, though I never really knew how I could help conserve energy when it is necessary for light fixtures to be turned on.  In this particular section of my book I read about converting from incandescent bulbs to efficient compact fluoresent light (CFL) bulb and purchasing light-emitting diodes (LED) lamps and fixtures.  CFL bulbs shine ten times longer and are about 75% more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs, while LED bulbs illuminate 25 times longer.  These fixtures are so energy efficient that if everyone replaced just one standard light bulb with an energy efficient bulb consumers would save about $600 million and enough energy would be conserved to light 3 million homes for a year!  Can you imagine how much energy would be saved if all lights in our homes were CFL or LED bulbs? 

There are also color options for CFL bulbs to choose from.  There are clear bluish white colored bulbs to resemble daylight or yellow/red color that's comparable to the incandescent light.

2.  When it comes to washing dishes and wanting to save more energy and water, would you think hand-washing or dishwashing would be more eco-friendly?  I guessed hand-washing and I was incorrect in my assumption.  On average, using a dishwasher uses only half the electricity and one-sixth of the water than hand-washing does. 

A recent study conducted from Germany concluded that new dishwashers can save 4,300 gallons of water a year over hand-washing.  This was troubling for me considering the house I rent does not contain a dishwasher, though, again, the book pulled through for me and provided tips for those of us who do not own dishwashers.  To begin with, scraping dishes clean and allowing them to soak in the sink before washing will help.  When it comes time for washing them, scrub the dishes and whatnot and then stack them to one side of the sink, when rinsing, give them a quick pass under the faucet and wash utentisils by the handful, not one by one.  Finally, place the clean dishes promptly into the other side of the sink or into a dish rack.    One final precaution that may be taken would entail purchasing a low-flow faucet aerator, which releases .5 gallons per minute unlike standard faucets that release 2.2 gallons per minute.  Aerator faucests may be found and purchased at most hardware stores, if you're not sure when you get there, simply ask for help.

3.  Often when the subject of creating a greener home is discussed one topic that always seems to be mentioned revolves around cleaning supplies.  The purpose for using cleaning products is to create a clean and sanitary home, however, it appears that is not necessarily what may happen.  Most house cleaners release toxic ingredients, such as petroleum-derived insecticides, into the air along with distributing unhealthy fumes.   Now, with the help of this book, I will be able to make plant-based household cleaning supplies of my own from the DIY recipes listed.  Recipes listed are soft scrub, fume-free oven cleaner, glass cleaner, floor cleaner, disinfectant, stain remover, mold remover, deodorizer, carpet/upholstery spot cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, metal polish, and drain cleaner.  What makes me excited is knowing I can make these products using common household products such as baking soda and white vinegar, but I also feel more confident knowing these products are not emitting toxic fumes throughout the home and into the atmosphere.  If you would like a recipes let me know!

New Terminology - definitions and information provided in the link

1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
2. Light-emitting diodes (LED)
3. Aerator

Eye Opener: CSPI

For my Eye Opener post this week I decided to Take a Tour of the Food Supply to receive helpful tips on how to eat green.


When window first opened to the webpage I had a little laugh due to the animal sounds the website provides.  On the website there were many areas to receive information when it comes to the process of raising cattle and other farm animals.  I will be honest, I do feel the website was slightly biased when it comes to the topic and that they seem to be completely against raising livestock for food consumption.  What gives me that impression is the terms they use throughout the webpage, terms such as 'foul' and 'smelly.'  I also noticed the only information the webpage provided were ways that the livestock industry is harming the environment and made no point to mention what precautions farmers are taking to run a green farm.


The most surprising fact, to me, mentioned that the overall cost of diet-related diseases costs an annual sum of approximately $90 billion.  In addition, the cost of drugs to reduce health conditions such as high cholesterol levels is about $30 billion dollars a year.  As high as this number is I do have a hard time believing that this is a result solely due to citizens consuming meat and dairy products; which was the impression I received from the website.  Some individuals, for instance, have poor health conditions due to their family genes.


I do feel I need to disclose that my family does raise beef for a living so that is probably why I am noticing the lack of healthy environmental facts when it comes to livestock farms.


Please do not misinterpret what I am saying.  I know there are ways that livestock farms are being detrimental to the environment and that the facts the website is presenting should be brought to people's attention.  What I am trying to say is that now all farms are run this way and that there are farms trying to reduce their ecological footprint as well.

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.

Reflection: Weeks 1-4

In the previous weeks I have primarily learned three key topics: how to create and utilize a blog, how much of an impact I am having on the environment, and what I can do to help sustain the environment.

Thus far in the course we have primarily discussed creating and utilizing the wonderful internet tool known as a blog.  Since I have started blogging I have realized how convenient it is for me to communicate with my classmates along with knowing that less trees are being consumed since we have no textbook for the course and most work is completed online.  I love to read and learn, however, I am not a huge fan of technology so previously I felt the best way for me to learn was through reading various books and texts though now I am looking into purchasing a 'NOOK' book - an electronic device that enables you to purchase and download books and magazines electronically replacing printed reading materials.

As one of our assignments for the course we were instructed to take an assessment called IUHPE Ecological Footprint.  For this assessment you have to answer various questions regarding topics such as what forms of transportation you use and where you primarily purchase your groceries.  Once you have completed the assessment you are then informed of how many earths it would take to sustain people if everyone had your lifestyle.  I was shocked to hear that mine was 4.8 earths!  So this assignment really made me think about how I am living and become aware of how even my small decisions leave an everlasting mark on the earth.  I've noticed in the past few weeks that before I purchase any services or goods I try to briefly go through how using this product will impact the earth.  For example, I had made a meal earlier this week and when I was putting the leftovers away I used a plate and placed seran-wrap over it, though after I did that I realized how much seran-wrap I go through.  Seems like something that doesn't really matter, however, it made me think about the fact that when I take out the meal again I end up tossing out the seran-wrap and thus I create a lot more unnecessary waste.  As a result, I have decided that I am going to use tupperware for my food more often instead of having the food on a plate with seran-wrap on top.

The final topic I have really learned is how to make small decision changes, such as the one I stated above, in order to allow the environment to sustain.  I am reading a book, Do One Green Thing, that is doing a fantastic job at teaching me how to make small lifestyle changes.  Each chapter begins with a challenge for the reader to do 'one green thing,' such as wash most of your laundry in cold water.  The author then goes on to inform you of why it is necessary to make this lifestyle change and how the change will benefit the environment.  The book also includes a wonderful list of actual items out there to consider when making these changes and which items to pass up.  This book has taught me to research and think about the future more when it comes to purchasing various goods.  The author provides many alternative goods to choose from instead of simply going with what you have always purchased.  I hope to try out some of these skills in the near future.

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.

Read 'n' Seed 2: First quarter of "Do One Green Thing"

For the first quarter I had decided to read the first section or part of the book focused on Food and Drink.  This section included the first five chapters and finished on page 77.

The overall main topic, as I mentioned, was food and drink so each chapter tied into that category.  Chapter 1 focused on drinking water, chapter 2 on produce, chapter 3 on fish, chapter 4 on meat, dairy, poultry, and eggs, and chapter 5 on food storage and cookware.

After reading the first section of the book I would have to say there were 3 main pieces of information I found to be most significant and surprising.  

1.  If every American stopped purchasing water in disposable bottles then we would save a lot of water.  I'm sure this seems like a given point, however, I was not aware that it takes twice as much water to make the disposable bottle.  So you could say that every bottle of water actually represents three bottles of water.  This poses a problem not only because over 80% of disposable bottles end up in landfills, but this also uses up even more water than necessary.  What we can do to help diminish this issue is to purchase reusable bottles, such as steel or aluminum, and fill the bottles with tap water.


2.  Most of us are now aware that drinking wine, in moderation, is good for you.  Though people with asthma and allergies have something even more to look forward to.  Studies have shown that people with asthma and/or allergies often prefer white wines over red due to the lower quantities of sulfite, a common allergen, found in the wine.  USDA organic wine forbids any additions of sulfites in the wine.  So organic wine is beneficial for people with these health conditions since enables them to drink without the issue of breathing problems occurring.


3.  I've heard before that you should avoid purchasing 'Teflon', a nonstick coating on cookware, though I never really knew why.  After reading I learned that when overheated (above 500 degrees F) nonstick coatings can release hazardous fumes.  The chemical released is known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which has been found in recent studies to cause cancers, reduce fertility, and interfere with fetal development.  The best way to reduce your chances of becoming ill would be to avoid using these products all together.  Though I did find it interesting that, when cooked at normal temperatures, Teflon pans may not necessarily cause human illness.


New Terminology - definitions provided in the link

1. Bioplastics
2. Biodynamic
3. Bisphenol A (BPA)