Eye Opener: Photo Essay

For this project I decided to focus on the recycling and garbage disposal on our campus. I chose this as my project because I think sometimes our school does a great job of ensuring there are recycling options beside the garbage cans but then other times you can walk by 10 garbage cans before you find one recycling bin. I think another area our school needs to work on is having all recycling options together with a garbage bin so that you throw the proper items in the proper bin.

The first four pictures are from outside on our campus. In every picture there is a garbage bin but there were no recycling options anywhere to be seen.

The first three pictures above are garbage bins in our school with no recycling options anywhere to be seen. The fourth picture is my first glimpse at a recycling option. The issue is that it is only for paper and other recyclables cannot be recycled here.

Recycling options!!!!! The first picture is taken just outside of the gym and there are 4 garbage bins and two recycling bins where you can dispose your bottles, but please no paper?! Then there is a picture of a garbage bin and a paper only bin, but please no bottles?! Finally in the last picture there is a garbage bin and recycling for both paper and bottles!

The last two pictures are great examples of what our school can offer us in terms of disposing our garbage and recyclables. My question is why can't these options be all over our school instead of just chosen places?

My way of thinking is that where there is a garbage bin, there should be recycling bins (all options). If I am walking down the halls and I continually have the only option of throwing something in the garbage, chances are I might get fed up and throw a recyclable item in the garbage. Easy fix is to have great waste areas like the my last picture shows all over our school!

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Issue/ Bill
The issue that I am addressing is outdoor air quality. Our air is becoming more polluted in several different ways. What I am specifically addressing is the use of motor vehicles and how it is impacting the air we breathe. Enhancing Livability of All Americans Act of 2011 (H.R. 2609) is a bill that has been proposed to help address this issue.

Who is affected by the issue?
We as a society are affected the most. If nothing is done with the amount of gases that are released into the environment from motor vehicles then our society will have many problems. Global warming and not having clean air to breathe are the major problems. If this act is not passed then we loose. Although limiting the use of our cars (as it seems to be a major part of our lives) would seem like we are loosing, in fact it is the opposite. If this act is passed then we will gain from this because it is helping to protect the air we breathe. Car companies might be loosing if the bill is passed because it could lead to lower sales or there could be another bill about car companies having to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that their cars produce.

Consequences 
Society is most effected especially if nothing is done to help solve the issue of air quality. Sometimes it is hard to understand or imagine a world where clean air is scarce because as of right now we don't 'see' it. It is the generations to come that we need to start standing up for. At the rate in which we are polluting our world, it could be our kids or grandchildren that are affected by the actions we choose today.

Economic/Social Impact
If the bill is not passed the economic costs would be that global warming and poor air quality would increase and society would be the one's paying. If this bill is passed, this will help reduce global warming and the amount of carbon dioxide that is released. This will reduce the costs of trying to clean our air in the future, and now. Another costs is the bill is passed would be providing more public transportation and ensuring that all biking and walking trails are safe and updated. If the bill passes the social benefits would be that there would be less money spent on gas and oil each year. We would also benefit from having cleaner air and becoming a healthier society because we would need to find other means of transportation. At the same time the social costs are oil and gas companies as they would loose money as well as car companies.

Barriers 
The barriers to addressing the issue is that car companies, and oil and gas companies would be loosing substantial amounts of money. Another barrier is that we as society are used to driving our cars everywhere we go and this would be a huge adjustment. Another barrier might be that cities and towns would argue that it will cost them to provide more public transportation as well as having to provide sustainable modes of transportation. These barriers can be overcome through education. Maybe car companies can start to produce more environmentally friendly vehicles (I know this is something that has already started) to help reduce the amount of money lost. Educating city and town officials about how this is really a benefit to us, I believe would help overcome the barriers.

Resources
The resources that are needed are car companies to get on board and start producing more environmentally friendly vehicles. Also more buses for public transportation are needed. Another resource is paving trails for walkers and bikers and making sure they are well lit. Money is always a recourse that is needed to help educate society.

History
Air quality is not something that is new. There have been concerns about our air quality for some time now, and bills have been created to try and protect our environment. The Clean Air Act was created in 1963. The EPA, Environmental Protection agency was founded in 1970 and is dedicated to helping protect our environment and our health. There have been many strides to help protect our air quality and many more need to be made.

Allies and Opponents 
Society as a whole should support this issue but I know this would not be the case. I think those who live in urban areas would be more in support of this issue because I know that sitting in traffic is a concern that many have and this could be a solution. I also know that many people who live in the city are sick of looking up and always seeing this haze above them. I think that those who are more educated would support this issue because they better understand the impact we are making on our environment. I think gas, oil, and car companies would oppose this issue. For them it is all about making money and with this bill they could see a major drop in sales. I think I could create an environment where everyone wants to get on board by first educating them. Then I would show the companies what they can do so that they won't loose as much money (producing environmentally friendly vehicles).

My Recommendation 
I vote yes for this bill. Air quality is something we should all be concerned about and this bill is trying to ensure that not only will we have clean air to breathe, but also our children and generations to come.

Share & Voice: Personal Experience at Scandic Hotels

For this share and voice I wanted to talk about a recent experience I had while I was in Sweden. Since I have enrolled in this class I have started to take more notice about environmental issues, concerns, and what others are doing to help our environment. Staying in European hotels can sometimes be an adventure and with this stay I learned about different ways that Scandic Hotels are trying to be environmentally friendly.

The first thing I notice when I walk into the hotel room is the size difference compared to the typical American hotel room. The beds are is if they are one, that's how close they are. Of course we try and separate them as much as we can because that is the way we are use to sleeping. The reason I bring this up is because I began to think if our hotel rooms here in North America are really much bigger then we need. Do we really need our hotel rooms to be that big? The rooms that I have stayed in while in Europe are about half the size of those I have stayed in anywhere else in the world. Although the rooms are smaller, they don't try and cram more rooms into one hotel. They are usually 4 floors with about 30 rooms on a floor. What does this have to do with the environment? I began to think that when the rooms are smaller the amount of heat that is needed to warm the room is much less then if the room was bigger. Perhaps this is there way of trying to save on heat. Although I could not find this to be a fact on Scandic Hotels website, I think there is an environmental reason behind it.

Another thing that I noticed when I walked in the room is that you must put your key card in a slot (just to the side of the door) in order to turn on the lights! This is such a great idea. Many times when we leave our hotel rooms we leave the lights on because we won't see the electric bill right? Having to put your key card in this slot means that when you leave your room, you will take your key with you and automatically all lights and power sources will be turned off. This also includes any appliance that you may have plugged in to charge. You won't forget your key or else you won't be getting back into your room. Of course you can get a new key at the front desk but I can bet this won't be a habit throughout your trip! I really enjoyed this concept and think this is something North American hotels should start doing.

Now that I am on the topic of room keys, I read the back of mine and read something that I thought was great. The key cards are made out of sustainable wood, which is a cost-effective and reliable green alternative to plastic. I decided to research this a bit more and found out more about this product. I visited Sustainable Cards, which makes the room keys that Scandic Hotels use. Manufacturing wooden cards use about 1/3 of the electricity that it takes to make plastic cards. This was such a great website and I would recommend visiting this website to learn more about why using these key cards are better for our environment.

I was truly amazed and excited about the way Scandic Hotels is trying to be environmentally friendly. Here is a list of environmentally friendly things they do:

• Stopped using all single-use disposable packages
• Soap dispensers in the rooms and public toilets
• Use Swan eco-labelled serviettes 
• Have an environmentally aware towel and bedding policy
• Always use low-energy bulbs where possible
• Control the water flow in the toilets, showers, and taps
• Choose energy from renewable sources
• Use the room key to control lighting
• Breakfast buffet offeres several ecological choices
• Do not serve food containing genetically modified organisms (GMO)
• Choose environmentally aware suppliers

You can find more information about their environmentally friendly choices by clicking this link: Scandic Hotels. This class has truly been life changing. A year ago, I would have never noticed the environmentally friendly things that the hotel I was staying at was doing. Now, I am more conscious and more aware about my environment. 

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Healthy People 2020

Outdoor Air Quality 

Objective- Increase use of alternative modes of transportation for work  (EH-2)

Sub-Objective- Trips made by bicycling (EH-2.1)

Target- 0.6%

Baseline- 0.5% of trips were made to work via bicycle in 2008. 

THOMAS

H.R.2609

Title- Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] (introduced 7/21/2011)   

Cosponsors: (2) Rep Blymenauer, Earl [OR-3] and Rep Connolly, Gerald. E [VA-11] 

Latest Major Action: 7/22/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status- Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. 

Recommendation: Vote Yes to Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2011

My Political Representatives: 

Share & Voice: Pictures from Switzerland

I have had the opportunity to travel to many different places around the world through hockey. I play on the National Team (Canada) and we travel a lot for different tournaments. I have been to places like Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, many places in the U.S and in Canada. What inspired this blog is the fact that I am currently in Sweden for the 4 Nations Cup Tournament and decided I wanted to share some pictures from when I was in Switzerland back in March. When I was packing for that trip I thought winter clothes because there was still snow in the ground in Duluth when I left. Turns out it was pretty much summer in Switzerland. It was absolutely beautiful and very hot out....to the point that I got burnt one day! Here are some pictures of the pictures from Switzerland.

This is a picture of Rhine Falls in Switzerland. On one of our days off they took us to see these falls and they were beautiful. We climbed to the top where there is a look out, and to see the power of the water was amazing. 

This is a picture of a cave that we walked through to get to the bottom of Rhine Falls. It was a really cool cave and I enjoyed the feeling I got from the natural rock and natural environment from being at the falls that day.

Here I am in Zurich. We went sight seeing one day and found this amazing view! You can look down the the Limmat River and what a beautiful day and scene it was. Where I am standing, there was a beautiful park with the greenest grass and life size chess games everywhere. The pieces for the game were almost as tall as us and it seemed like the locals would meet there to play some friendly matches against each other. 

Here are some of the building in Switzerland. I really love the atmosphere in Europe. Switzerland had some really beautiful buildings and the architect in Europe is like no where else. 

This is a picture I took one day when I was walking. As you can see the spaces between the buildings is very small as I can reach my arms across and touch both buildings. The roads in Europe are usually very narrow and barely enough room for two cars. I love the brick roads in Europe and the atmosphere it creates.

Here is the last picture I want to share with you. Yes, that is a real car! We walked by it and I was so intrigued. We checked it out and peeked inside. It is an electric car that can seat two people including the driver. The passenger seat faces out the back window! One thing I notice in Europe is that there are no big SUV's like there are in North America. Many people take public transportation or bike. There were tons of bikes everywhere I went and what I noticed in Switzerland is that most of the bikes were not locked up.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my trip to Switzerland. I have been there twice. The first time the Swiss Alps were very close, opening our blinds in the morning and looking out at the mountains is breath taking. The second time I was in Zurich, which is where the pictures are from. Each time I saw a different aspect of Switzerland and I love it. I would recommend it as a destination for those that like to travel. 

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

For this assignment we have been asked to identify our political representatives. Being Canadian this assignment took me in a couple directions and wasn't sure exactly what I should do. At first I started out by looking for my Canadian political representatives but with our government being different I decided to look at the representatives for where I am living while in the States. I really had know idea so it took more research for me so I could better understand what I was looking for. The following representatives are for Duluth, MN, my current city in the United States.

President

 Barack Obama

Democrat

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

OR Call

202-456-1111(comments)

202-456-2461 (fax) 

Congressmen 

Amy Klobuchar 

U.S Senate

Democrat

http://klobuchar.senate.gov/

302 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

OR Call

202-224-3244 (phone)

202-228-2186 (fax)

Al Franken

U.S Senate 

Democrat

http://franken.senate.gov/

309 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

OR Call

202-224-5641

Chip Cravaack

U.S House

Republican

http://cravaack.house.gov/

508 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Or Call

202-225-6211(phone) 

202-225-0699 (fax)

State Legislators 

Mary Murphy

MN House

Democrat

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10444

343 State Office Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Or Call

651-296-2676

800-890-5428 (toll free)

Or Email

rep.mary.murphy@house.mn

Thomas Bakk

MN Senate

Democrat

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_bio.php?district=06

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

State Office Building, Room147

St. Paul, MN 55155-1206

Or Call

651-296-8881

Governor 

Mark Dayton

Democrat

http://mn.gov/governor/

Office of the Governor

130 State Capitol

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

Or Call

651-201-3400

800-657-3717 (toll free)

651-797-1850 (fax) 

Reflection: Weeks 1-7

Blogging 

Through my environmental class I have learned a lot about blogging. I had no idea what blogging was really even about, but I learned quickly. I learned about the behind the scenes work that goes into a blog. Simple things like layout, posting, labels, and how to set up a blog. Then I learned more about blogging etiquette and how to truly make a blog your own. We have learned more and more tricks along the way and more recently I made a favicon. I think it is really cool because I didn't know that's what the symbol at the beginning of web addresses was, but now I do and now I have my own. I have to say that I do enjoy blogging and have even visited other blogs that are not required in the class. I think this might be something I will really get into once I am done college!

Films in Class

This class has truly opened up my eyes about many different aspects of our environment. Over the past few weeks we have watched a few different movies. These movies are one's that I wish everyone around the world could watch. They are truly inspiring and educational. They make me want to change so many things in my life and the choices I make. One of the films we watched was called "Fresh". It discussed things like food contamination, environmental pollution, and depletion of natural resources. The main idea was how over the years, agriculture has turned into an industrial model. We have changed the way our food is grown and processed and I think we are feeding ourselves all the wrong things. Another movie we watched was called "Green"and this movie shocked me! The documentary talks about 150 petrochemical plants that run along the Mississippi river and how these chemical plants have caused major health concerns for those who live near them. One area has been given the name "cancer alley", and listening to the stories is heartbreaking. So many families are suffering from the pollution that these petrochemical plants produce. The last film that I want to talk about is called "Tapped". This documentary discusses the bottled water industry and asks the question whether access to clean water is a human right or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other product. Ultimately companies are going into communities, pumping their tap water into their trucks then bottling it and selling it back to the communities. This is something that I disagree with completely. It is our tap water and companies shouldn't be allowed to put it in a bottle and sell it. Along with this issue is the fact that the empty bottles are ending up in the ocean and polluting our earth. The movies that I have watched in class are truly inspirational to really start to stand up for our rights and take the term "vote with your dollar" seriously. We as consumers have the choice to not buy certain products and in order to let our voices be heard, we need to start to do this. 

Other Topics

After every film we discuss our thoughts about it and how we as consumers can make a difference. Education! Most consumers don't truly understand what they are buying, where it comes from, or how it is made. It is up to us to educate ourselves about what we buy everyday. It won't be on the label, they won't promote the 'bad' in a product, so we have to make the decision to want to get to know what is truly in our baskets. 

We have also talked about other topics that impact our environment. Recently we discussed antiquing and junking. Sounds like trash? Think again! We discussed different ways that we can reuse old items and recycle many different things from one individual to another. Many items that we throw in the garbage could be something that another person could use. It is society's way of recycling. We need to learn how to do this much better as a society because our beautiful land is turning into a dump. Protect our earth, because we only have one! 

The Impact on Me

I could write so much about what I have learned so far in this class. I want to share with you a few of the things I have learned and have implemented them in my life. The first thing is changing a lifestyle to help reduce my ecological footprint. Over five week I challenged myself to turn off the lights in my bedroom every time I left my room. At first it was a struggle but now it is a part of my life. Such a simple thing, yet something that can have a huge environmental impact. Another thing that I have learned through the films is to read labels and learn more about what I buy. Now when I go to the grocery store I am more aware of what I put in my cart and I read the labels. I am making better choices in the food I buy and I am voting with my dollar. Another change I have made is using reusable bags. I was reading a classmates blog and that was her challenge over five weeks. After reading her blogs and learning about how harmful plastic bags can be, I now use reusable bags! We are half way through this class and I can't wait to learn more about how I can make a difference in preserving our environment.