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!

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part 1

Defined Terms:
Antique- An antique is an old collectable item that represents a previous period of time in society. The reason why it is considered to be a collectable item is because of its age, beauty, condition, or unique feature. Antiquing is the act of collecting these items and using them as a decorative/ art technique.

Junking- This is the retrieval of ordinarily discarded things and materials. It is a way of redefining the usage of things, and a way of cleaning up our polluted earth! Junk is something that one person throws away as something that they no longer want and junking is when someone else uses another person’s “junk”.

Flea market- is a place, indoors or outdoors, where inexpensive or second hand goods are sold. Many times this is where people will bargain the price down. Flea-market vendors might me families that are selling unwanted items or a commercial operation that include new or used merchandise.

Thrift Shop (may also be known as a charity shop)- is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. They usually sell second-hand goods that have been donated by individuals in the public, and are staffed by volunteers. This is not a place that is trying to make money as a “business”. They use the money to pay for business costs (such as clothing racks, counters) and then the rest is used for the organization’s charitable purpose. 

Upcycling- is taking something that you would otherwise throw out and finding a way to make it into something else. It is taking waste and making it into something that has equal or greater use value; improving the quality of the material. An example could be taking an old sweater that can no longer be worn, and turning it into a purse.

Resale Shop- A place where they sell gently used goods. They buy their merchandize outright from individual owners. Sometimes a profit goes to a charity but it is different from a thrift shop as it differs in the percentage given (if any at all). Examples in Duluth would be Plato’s closet, Savers, or Goodwill.

What do the terms above have to do with environmental health?
At first the terms above might not seem like they have anything to do with environmental health, but they all do! They are all environmentally friendly ideas because they have to do with the concept of reusing items or materials. If antiquing or thrift stores didn't exist then our landfills would be filled with even more 'garbage'. All of the terms are our society's way or recycling items from one individual to another. One person's junk may be another person's art piece on their wall. If we can take the terms defined above and use them in our everyday decisions, we will be eliminating garbage that pollutes our earth!

Part 2
Identify at least one local resource for each of the terms above...provide name, location, contact information, and website or blog. 

• Antiques: Chester Creek Books and Antiques, 1333 East Superior St. Duluth, MN, 218-724-4427 or otabooks@gmail.com 
• Junking: Old Town Antiques and Books, 102 E Superior St. Duluth, MN, 218-722-5426
• Flea Market: Studebaker Drivers Club Swap Meet Flea Market & Classic Car Show, Lake Superior College 2101 Trinity Rd, Stude.one@usfamily.net
• Thrift Shop: Goodwill,  700 Garfield Av. Duluth, MN, 218-722-3050
• Upcycling: I could not find a specific location in duluth but anyone could do this in their own homes!
• Resale Shop: Plato's Closet, Tree Road, Suite 315C. Duluth, MN, 218-733-9455

Identify whether you do any or use any of these things. Why or Why not?

I can't say that I collect or use antiques or that I have ever tried junking at this point in my life. I have just never though about doing this before, but once I am done College and looking for my first real house, this is something I would love to do. I have never tried upcycling and maybe this has to do with my creative side not being so great. Maybe this is something I can try in my future. This summer I went to a flea market back home in Canada. It was my first experience and I had a lot of fun. You can find some great deals and the atmosphere was great. I bought some local fruit that day and it was delicious. I donate my old clothes on a regular basis. I usually do this in the summer when I am back home and have gone through all of my things. I give mine to the Diabetes Association and they even come pick it up at my house! I have been to Plato's closet a couple times but have not bought anything, only because I didn't find anything I needed. I love the idea of stores like Plato's closet and my roommates and I are planning a shopping trip there this week! 

Part 3

Get your Junk on! Visit JunkMarketStyle.com and find three projects that inspire you or that you simply find cool. 

1. Happy Father’s Day Eve- I chose this cool project because for many kids, this would be a fun and awesome gift to give their dads. Taking an old bottle and making it their own, by adding their picture and turning it into a vase to give on father’s day! Very cool!
2. My ‘White Trash’ Bedroom- I don’t know if I would ever have the guts to re-do my entire room with a budget of $0 and using the concept of junking. That is exactly what they did! Their entire bedroom is ‘junk’ but looking at the picture it looks really well done and like a really cool place to hang out! 
3. A Reel Bird Feeder- For the project, they took an old movie reel and put in on a stand to make a bird feeder. It looks really cool but when I saw it I thought I would use that as a serving tray for guests (humans not birds). I know it was made for the birds, but I thought of different ways I would use something like that! Creative! 

Eye Opener:Environmental Working Group

After visiting the EWG website, I decided to look up  ChapStick Lip Balm (peppermint flavour). Now that winter is approaching I know my lips are going to feel the weather change and are going to want some of that lip balm.

The overall rating for the product is a 5, which is a moderate hazard. The first thing I did was look at the ingredients found in ChapStick, which are listed on the EWG website. To be honest I couldn't pronounce most of the ingredients, which made some red flags pop up in my head. What I also noticed is that there are a lot of different ingredients and I wondered if there is even a need for all those chemicals to be in my lip balm.

Next, I scrolled down and read through some of the major concerns with the ingredients and how they can affect humans. What stuck out the most to me was neurotoxicity. There is strong evidence of human neurotoxicity in two of the ingredients found in my lip balm. What this means is that exposure to these toxins can alter the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way to cause damage to nervous tissue. I could have stopped reading there because right then I made the decision to through away my ChapStick. However, I did decide to read on and another alarming concern is endocrine disrupters. There is strong evidence of this in two of the ingredients. These are disruptions that can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. YIKES!

As I continued to read on about the concerns, I was left in complete shock. I had no idea that all of those toxins could be in one little tube, and that there are some major health concerns related to those toxins/ingredients. The list is quite lengthy and I could go on about the different concerns but it was clear to me that this product is not one that I will continue to use. My sister, who is a nurse, has told me many times that I should read cosmetic labels and that I should really try to use more natural products or at least learn more about what is in my products. Well I can now say that she was right all along. I am definitely going to find a safer product for my lips and I am throwing away my ChapStick!

Eye Opener: CSPI

I decided to vist the Tour the Food Supply website and found it very informative. This is a great website to learn quick facts about food, where it comes from, and how it impacts our environment. I want to make changes in my food choices because all the facts were very shocking to me!

The first stop on my tour, was the Animal Feed Facts. The part that stood out the most was the fact that there are far more antibiotics fed to healthy livestock then are used to treat sick people. To me that is something that I don’t even know how to begin to wrap my head around. The antibiotics that are fed to the animals is something that ends up being a part of our diet and to me that is scary. Along with this fact came another shocking piece of information. The methane released from livestock and their manure is equivalent to the annual release of carbon dioxide from 33 MILLION automobiles! I had no idea that the manure could have such a negative impact on our environment.

Another stop on my tour that left me shocked was the Irrigation facts. Irrigating feed-grain crops and raising livestock requires about 15 TRILLION GALLONS of water per year. Wow! I had no idea that the amount of water being used was so high. It is hard for me to even picture that amount of water being used for one aspect of our lives.

The last fact that I want to share is one that I found at the Hospital stop on the tour. I knew some of the facts about diet but once again it opened my eyes. The cost of drugs to treat high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure is about $30 BILLION a year and the overall cost of diet-realted diseases is about $90 billion annually. This was part of the tour because diets rich in meat and dairy products, and low in plant-based foods, increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain types of food. Choosing healthier options can decrease the health bills and health problems our world face.

This tour is one that I would recommend to everyone. It is quick and easy to navigate around, while at the same time learning about some pretty astonishing facts. For me this tour was very educational and learning about all aspects of our food will help me make better choices for my own personal health and for the environment.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

My foot size for a pair of shoes is a women's 9, but my ecological foot size is much bigger then I expected. I took an ecological quiz at the IUHPE Ecological Footprint website. I wasn't expecting such alarming results, but unfortunately thats what I got. According to this quiz, if everyone lived like me, it would take 6.5 earths to provide enough resources. My first reaction was to think that something must be wrong with the quiz, and there is no way my results would be that high. Then I started to think about the way I live, and I think there are many things I can improve upon.

Food resources is an area that I can improve the most. This is an area that I can make small changes with, one step at a time. Buying foods that are in season, or trying to buy a couple things a week that are local would help reduce my footprint! Mobility is another area that I need to improve upon. This is an area that I struggle to think of ways to improve. I travel a lot with hockey, and our rink is not located on campus, so we must drive down. We do car pool whenever we go to the rink, and other then that I bike to school, and many times we just walk to the grocery store because it is only a block away. Perhaps this is something I can improve more upon once I have graduate from University. Other areas I know I can improve upon are doing simple things around the house. Turning off the lights when they are not being used, using reusable bags instead of plastics bags, and recycling even more then I do now!

My ecological footprint is too big for my liking. There are little things I can do to shrink my footprint, and I am dedicated to doing it! Sometimes we don't realize how easily things can add up when discussing the size of our ecological footprints. If you have never taken an ecological quiz before, I strongly suggest you do because the results might surprise you. Small steps but big differences!

Welcome to Adventures with Haley

Ryan's Falls in Switzerland

Hi, my name is Haley Irwin and I am a Community Health major at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I have created this blog to share some of the things I will learn in my environmental health class, but will also be focusing on saving energy! I will discuss different ways to save energy, lower your electric bill, and how this can affect our environment.

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

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post 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. 

Here are the members of my web group: 

1. Nicole@Exploring The Environment
2. Alex@The Geyser of Johnson
3. Dr.V/Kristen@Enviro-surfing with Amy and Kristen 
4. Alina@Splashing Along the Shores with Alina

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

I hope you will enjoy my blog and learn about eco-friendly ideas as we go on this adventure together. The environment is ours to take care of and we can make a difference one light at a time!