Advocacy Project: Healthy People?THOMAS

Objectives:
Increase use of alternative modes of transportation to reduce motor vehicle emissions
and improve the nation's air quality.
This objective monitors how people commute in the following ways:
Trips made by bicycle
Trips made by walking
Trips made by transit
People that telecommute

Emerging Issues:
The amount of air pollutants released from motor vehicles have been greatly reduced. Yet, the amounts can still be further reduced if the amount of miles traveled in motor vehicles are reduced and the type of motor vehicle, such as SUV or mini-vans, that typically produce more emissions, are not used.

Opportunities & Challenges:
EPA targets three major air pollutants which include nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury. The EPA also aim to reduce the amount smog, acid rain, poor visibility, and nitrogen and mercury deposits. The EPA is looking to clean up the air quality by using new and cleaner pollution control strategies. One way to control the output of pollution is by controlling the amount of motor vehicles being used. Therefore, they are promoting using alternate forms of transportation.

H.R. 3271 Green Routes to Work Act (Introduced to House Committees)

Title: To provide tax breaks and incentives for businesses to provide green transportation alternatives such as providing tax free transit passes to employees, giving a tax credit to businesses who provide a commuter van to employees and allow for employees to be reimbursed for bicycles or transit passes used to commute to and from work. This bill also calls for the removal of barriers for cyclist commuters.

Sponsors: Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Latest Major Action: July 21, 2009 referred to House committee

Recommendation: Vote Yes for H.R 3271 Green Routes to Work Act

My Representatives: Jim Oberstar

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My Smart Goal

My Goal:

I will ride the bus to and from the UMD campus three times per week.

Why is my goal eco-chic?

By taking the bus 3 times per week I will be saving gas and therefore saving the environment. I can cut down on my dependency on the non-renewable resource oil. I will also cut down on the air pollution caused by driving my car. I will also no longer contributing as much to the greenhouse gases that are trapped in our environment and contributing to global warming.

Why I chose this behavior and why is this important to me?

I chose to change my driving habits because I believe I am being extremely wasteful driving my car. I live right on the bus route, so I literally have to walk less than a block to the bus stop. I have been telling myself that I am going to take the bus more all year, but I have yet to take action. Therefore, I think setting this SMART goal for class is the perfect opportunity to give me the necessary push. Because of my busy schedule, I am not able to take the bus everyday but I have figured out that I should be able to ride the bus 3 days without impeding on my current schedule. Not only would taking the bus be beneficial to the environment but it would also benefit my pocket book. I believe I could save a lot of money on gas especially since as students we can ride the bus for free.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.

Share and Voice: Food and Water Watch

I have found this really interesting website while I was looking up information about bottled water. Since we watched the movie "Tapped" I have been really bent out of shape over what theses bottled water companies are doing in order to make a profit.

I ran across the website Food and Water Watch during my search.

This website is agency located in Washington D.C that is dedicated to make sure food and water products are safe, environmentally friendly (sustainable) and accessible to all. This website offers a lot of good informational articles about food produced in the U.S, fish and water, including bottled water. Besides the great articles on this site, what I found really neat is the provide many different ways you can take action and get involved. Most ways involve contacting law makers and advocating for safe products, which in my opinion is a basic human right. No one should have to worry about whether their water is safe, or AFFORDABLE! Food and water are needs and basic human rights that should not be allowed to be taken away from us so corporations can make a profit. I encourage everyone to check out this website whether it is take action or read some of the great articles.

Advocacy Project: My political Representatives

I have found my political representatives of my hometown, Duluth, MN, and have listed their information below:

President:

Barack Obama~ Democrat
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington DC, 20500

Congress Representatives:

U.S Senate

Al Franken~ Democrat
320 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5641

Amy Klobuchar~Democrat
320 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5641

U.S House

James Oberstar 8th district~Democrat
2365 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6211

Governor

Tim Pawlenty~ Republican
Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Telephone: (651) 296-3391

Minnesota Senate

Yvonne Prettner-Solon- 7th district~Democrat
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room G-9
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.4188

Minnesota House of Representatives

Mary Murphy~Democrat
343 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-2676 or 800-890-5428

County Board Representative

Peg Sweeney
5th District Commissioner
Room 208
100 N. 5th Avenue West
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 726-2450

Mayor

Don Ness
City Hall
411 West First Street
Duluth, MN, 55802

Reflection Weeks 5-8

In the past few weeks I have learned a lot of information that has changed how I view the environment. The documentaries that we have been watching in class have been especially eye opening.

We have watched several documentaries such as "Tapped" "Fresh" Green" and "The Future of Food". Most of these documentaries have made me very angry. It seems like all of the documentaries, even though they are talking about different aspects of the environment have one common theme, big corporations are polluting our environment and killing us to make a profit. These big companies are driven by greed and do not care if the products they make are safe, if their plants are killing the environment, and they always seem to target their competition such as small farmers that do not have prayer of a chance of winning a fight. Also, the documentary "Green" as shown me that people and companies think that certain populations are expendable or not as important. It makes me sick to think that these larger corporations are poisoning populations along the Mississippi River and deny that they have anything to do with it. What also is disturbing is that people will protect these companies. I think as consumers, we need to make a statement and let the companies know that we do not believe any population is expendable and what they are currently is wrong. They need to find a new solution.

The documentary "Tapped" also shocked me. The fact that the bottled water companies are basically stealing water from the residents and selling it back to them for 1900 times the original cost. It just is wrong, no one has a right to sell water as a commodity. It is essential to life and everyone has a right to it. I work as a cashier and the next day when I was cashiering and I saw someone by a bottle of water I had to fight the urge not to say something. I think I started discouraging customers from buying bottled water I would be in trouble by my employer.

I also learned about junking. A brief introduction was done and I learned what junking is and what can be created. I find using old things to make new things is really fun and really creative. In fact I did not even think crafting like this was considered recycling, but it totally is! IT is so cool and all of the projects are so unique. It seems a lot better than just buying something generic from a big box store!

Share and Voice: Activity: How are Green Are You?

We almost 10 weeks now we have been learning about the environment and how we can make our world a healthier place. Now I propose the question:

How green are you?
Have you been soaking in what we have learned and have you made any significant changes in your lifestyle since beginning this class?

I have found a cool little quiz How Green Do You Want to Be? It may not be the most scientifically accurate quiz but I thought it was fun.

I took the quiz I received the result "I've Seen the Green Light" Basically, I have acquired the necessary information about what is harmful and what is good for the environment. I have started taking some action, such as bringing my own bags to the grocery store or Target. But there is a lot more I could do, such as take public transportation more often.

I challenge everyone to complete the activity, share your results and if you would like share what changes you are going to make or already have made to make your lifestyle a little more environmentally friendly!

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

PART 1. I used dictionary.com or Wikipedia to define the following terms:

• antiques: according to dictionary.com, antiques are "in the tradition, fashion, or style of an earlier period."
  
• junk: according to dictionary.com, junk is "any old or discarded material"
  
• flea market: An outdoor market with multitudes of vendors selling old or used items
  
• thrift shop: a store that sells old or secondhand items at reduced prices
  
• upcycling: Wikipedia describes upcycling is taking an old useless item and converting it into a something completely different for added value.
  
• resale shop: a shop that sells old or secondhand items.
  

PART 2:

1. These terms relate to environmental health because they are all forms of recycling. They all take old discarded items and reuse them again. Also, when people do not buy brand new items, then they are creating less junk in the world. The less junk in the world, the more healthier the environment is going to be. I think it is good practice for people to secondhand shop; you can really find some good treasures and help out the environment at the same time.
2. 
   

Thrift Store: Vintage Duluth
205 E Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802
(218)722-1917
Open Mon thru Sat 11am-6pm

Flea Market: Hinckley Flea Market
701 Fire Monument RD, Hinckley, MN 55037
Open Thurs-Sun May thru Sept

Resale Shop: Dannie Duluth
932 E 4th Street, Duluth, MN 55805
(218)724-8507

Antique Shop: Father Time Antiques
395 S Lake Avenue, Duluth, MN 55802
(218)625-2379
No website available

1. I have never really done any of things, I would like to but sometimes I feel I just do not have the time to go to all of these shops. I usually treat shopping like I am on a mission; I have to get "x" so I go to "y". I have never been the type of person to just browse. Yet, I feel like it would be really fun, relaxing and exciting to take the time and bounce around to the different thrift stores and flea markets to see what unique things I could find.
   

PART 3: Getting my junk on!

Projects from Junk Market

• One project I found really cool was where someone took an old car window from a model T and made it into a picture frame! It is awesome! I could not even tell that this was an old car window and when I read that it was I was blown away! The creator called the project Freeze Frame.
  
• Another project I found really cool is called A Window of Organization. She took out the glass of an old window and filled the 4 panes with a chalkboard, magnetic board, cork board, and her child's artwork. I thought this was a cool alternative to a new dry erase board.
• I love the holidays and I especially love to decorate. I loved how this person made an ornament out of old jar lids. I'm for sure going to give this a try and decorate my tree this year!