Share and Voice: Motor Oil Recycling

Automobiles have longer intervals between oil changes than they used to... But whether you're changing your oil at three thousand miles or ten thousand miles; your used oil still needs a safe place to go. Rolling up your sleeves to change your own oil can be a great way to learn about your car and save a little money in the process, but it's critically important to the environment that you dispose of that used oil in a safe manner. Experts say that one drop of oil can contaminate two quarts of water and one quart can contaminate two million gallons of water. Scary thought if you ask me! Most places where you take your car in to service that do oil changes will let you bring in your own oil for recycling and some locations may even find a way to give that used oil a second life. At places like the London Road Car Wash, they re–use oil brought in to heat their facility. It's one of the reasons they were awarded the Sustainable Twin Ports Seal in 2008. So while protecting your pocketbook, make sure you're also protecting the environment. 

Source: Motor Oil Recycling  

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Review and Final Reflection

Weekly Update: 

I must admit that I thought I did a really good job this past week on staying on track with my SMART goal which is: I will drink five or fewer bottled beverages (Gatorade, Vitamin Water, soda, etc.) per week and I will recycle all of them when finished drinking them. I stayed well under my target goal and only drank like one or two beverages from a plastic bottle this past week. The stainless steel water bottle that I bought has really helped me the past couple of weeks along with drinking a lot of things out of my coffee cup at home. I know you're all probably wondering what, coffee cup? Yes, I use my trusting old coffee cup to drink out of; I rinse it out of course after I drink my coffee, but I figure hey why not save on water and dirtying another dish and just re-use my cup and be more eco-friendly. So again like I stated above I felt I did a good job in following my SMART goal and to be honest it's almost becoming second nature now.

Review of Entire Process:

My SMART goal to start out with was as follows: I will drink three or fewer bottled beverages (Gatorade, Vitamin Water, soda, etc.) per week and I will recycle all of them when finished drinking them. My goal did change throughout the process. I tweaked my goal just a bit and changed it from three to five or fewer bottled beverages per week. By doing this it made my goal much more attainable. This goal was much harder than I first anticipated it to be simply because I never realized just how much I drink out of plastic bottles. Since I changed my goal from three to five I haven't gone over one time and I'm really proud of myself for doing so. I think it would have been much wiser to start out with five bottled beverages and scale it down from there because now I only drink like two or three bottled beverages per week. The things that helped me be successful in achieving my goal was the suggestions and advise from my fellow blog members along with some self-dedication and support from friends. My blog members gave me some really good suggestions which included purchasing Gatorade and Vitamin Water powdered packets and buying a water bottle. Some things that got in the way were: deer hunting season and I purchased two cases of Gatorade and Vitamin Water prior to starting my SMART goal. I say deer season because there's no running water or electricity where we hunt and we pretty much have to drink out of  plastic bottles which stinks, however I took all of the plastic bottles that accumulated over the weekends home with me and recycled them so there was a positive that came out of the situation. I can address these types of things in the future by being more aware and prepared of what's ahead and start early on possible goals to allow for miscues that may arise. 

I've benefited not only from this SMART goal process but also from this class in that I'm much more aware now of my environment and I'm being much more eco-friendly. I've learned a lot about myself during this process in that I now realize that I can in fact change my behavior if I really want to do so. I have the self-motivation and dedication inside me to change. I learned throughout this SMART goal process that behavior change is indeed not easy to accomplish due to various physical, mental, and environmental factors and temptations but is attainable if you put your mind and will power to it. Like Bear Grylls says, if you keep your psychological status clear, calm, and collected anything is possible and you can in fact do whatever it is you set out to do. The environment benefited from my behavior change in that I recycled all of my bottles and by not purchasing or using plastic bottles the less factories had to make them no matter how nominal just my change was. Others benefited in that my girlfriend is now much more eco-friendly and she has helped me follow my SMART goal along with partaking in other environmentally friendly things/changes with me. I will continue this behavior and will continue to be more eco-friendly in other various ways that I can. Recommendations that I have for others about making a behavior change is choose a behavior that is indeed attainable and fits for you along with self-motivation and dedication. This has been an awesome experience and has taught me a lot about myself.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 and Final Reflection         

Advocacy Project: Letter and Fact Sheet

December 6, 2010

Senator Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senate
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

VOTE YES ON H.R.1261: YOUTH PREVENTION AND TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION ACT OF 2009

The proposed bill on educating our youths about tobacco use and its effects is extremely important. Increased tobacco prevention programs and anti-smoking campaigns would significantly impact a teen's desire in using tobacco. As a future health educator, I believe the increased creation of anti-smoking campaigns and tobacco prevention programs throughout the state of Minnesota will help greatly reduce the number of teens who currently use tobacco or those who are thinking of using tobacco. This act will provide opportunities for our young people to discuss pressures and issues they experience in regards to using tobacco or the possibility of using tobacco at this critical time in their lives.

This act would provide education and awareness for teens on the effects that tobacco use causes, especially to one's overall health. Educating young people on this topic would help lower health concerns and deaths (i.e. various cancers and respiratory issues) associated with tobacco use. According to The Truth, 1,200 people in the U.S. die every day from tobacco related disease. Some other facts from The Truth about tobacco include: In the U.S., about 50,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke-related disease. In the U.S., smoking results in 5.1 million years of potential life lost each year. Smoking causes impaired lung growth during childhood and adolescence. Lastly, in the U.S., 443,000 people die a tobacco-related death every year. Increased programs that provide education, awareness, and counseling about tobacco and its affects on our health will help these young people make the right decisions when it comes to using tobacco. We need to keep people, especially young people educated and informed on the consequences that tobacco causes.

Opponents of this bill might say that advertising does not increase the overall quantity of tobacco sold, rather the tobacco industry maintains that advertising merely enhances the market share of a particular brand, without recruiting new tobacco users. Others might say that parents need to do a better job of setting rules and guidelines along with policing their kids on the consequences of using tobacco. However, lets be realistic here shall we. Advertising is everywhere no matter where we turn and the increased use and availability of technology only enhances it. Young people are extremely impressionable so to say that advertising doesn't affect tobacco use among teens is absolutely absurd. In fact, according to one source, six year olds are familiar enough with cigarette advertising that they match the 'Old Joe' Camel character with cigarettes as often as they pair Mickey Mouse with the Disney Channel. As far as the parents angle goes, kids are going to do and try things no matter what their parents say or do to them. This only fuels my point and argument that more programs and anti-smoking campaigns are created so that young people are correctly informed and educated about the effects and consequences that tobacco has on us.

I appreciate your support of the Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act. I hope you realize the best course of action to protect our young people from tobacco is to vote "YES" to H.R. 1261. If I can provide any further information please contact me at (contact info would be here).

Signature

Matt

Fact Sheet About Adolescents and Tobacco Use:

• Close to 1,000 of the 3,000 youths who begin smoking every day will prematurely die of a tobacco-related disease.
• An infant's risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) increases 5 times if he or she is exposed to secondhand smoke in the room. Secondhand smoke also increases the risk of lung cancer and asthma.
• Smoking in childhood or adolescence increases the risk of developing cardiac disease – the number one cause of death in the United States.
• Young adult smokers are 1.43 times more likely to have a stroke than their nonsmoking peers.
• Smoking is linked to not only lung cancer, but also other respiratory problems like coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
• Children and adolescents who use tobacco have smaller lungs than their peers, and therefore tend to be less physically fit than their peers.
• Lastly, adolescents' use of smokeless tobacco increases their risk of oral cancer and nicotine addiction.

Sources: The Truth and Smoke Free Kids