Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

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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.

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

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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

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!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My SMART Goal

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.

This eco-chic lifestyle change will help reduce the amount of food that is wasted and is then disposed of.  Composting is a great way for nature to nuture itself.  What I mean is that by taking the food that was not consumed and composting it, it may then become a great soil nourisher which will enable new plants and 'life' to grow from it.  By doing this there will be less 'waste' to harm the earth.

I chose this particular behavior because I've really noticed lately that I do have a difficult time finishing meals at times.  Growing up whenever we had food scraps left we would set them outside for my dog and cats to eat.  However, now I am living in a home that does not allow pets and so I have had to scrape any leftovers I have had off my dish and into garbage.  When I do this I feel extremely wasteful and it reminds me of the fact that some people do not have as good of access to food and are starving.  This way if I compost I am at least giving something back to the environment and allowing it to grow instead of hindering it.

To give myself a 'kick-start' I went an picked up the composting bags and set it up in a bucket.  I have also placed the bucket on my shelf in the fridge to remind myself to place any leftover scraps I have remaining.

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