Share and Voice: LED Holiday Lights

The holiday season is now upon us and what better way to do a share and voice than Christmas lights! The holiday season often means a lot of green and red lights and decorations, but one of those colors should be your main focus this season. LED holiday lights have been around for several years now and while they may cost a bit more than traditional lights, they can provide significant benefits over incandescent bulbs. When Minnesota Power decorates its annual Christmas tree in Duluth they use only LED lights. So what are some of the benefits of using LED Holiday Lights? LED lights have a lot of benefits, including, they are 75 percent more energy efficient than traditional Christmas tree lights, they last ten times longer, and they're also more durable and they are cool to the touch so they reduce the risk for a fire hazard. Here's the difference: The energy of one seven watt incandescent bulb can power 140 LED lights. Something else to think about...if you plan to ditch those old energy eating strings of Christmas lights, you can do it in a green way. Airpark Products & Services in Duluth has partnered with the Recycling Association of Minnesota to safely recycle your old strings of lights. Last year the "Recycle Your Holiday" program recycled more than 100,000 pounds of lights. This year their goal is to double that. The recycled light bulbs will be crushed and the glass recycled, even the wires will be recycled. The copper inside will be stripped and marketed to area vendors. I thought this was an awesome article and now I know where I can recycle my old Christmas lights when they burn out. 

Source: LED Holiday Lights 

Reflection: Weeks 9-12

I know that many people have probably said this many times already, but really where has the time gone??? It seems like we just started the semester a couple of weeks ago and learned how to blog for crying out loud and we're actually almost to Christmas, (Crazy)! We've learned a lot on interesting things the past few weeks which included:

• My Political Representatives
• Healthy People 2010/THOMAS
• Issue Overview 
• Photo Essay

The political representatives assignment was a very good yet challenging assignment for us because it made us figure out who are local representatives are along with the bigger fish such as the president and senators. This was an important assignment because by knowing who are local reps are the better chances we have at advocating important issues in the future if need be. I mentioned challenging above only because the elections were just finishing up when we did the assignment so people were changing in offices.

The following week after finding out who are political representatives were we had to pick an issue/bill using Healthy People and THOMAS to advocate for followed by a full issue overview the following week. I chose a bill regarding smoking because it's something that has affected me personally growing up and still to this day. Both my parents smoked from the time I was born until now. My mom passed away 10 years ago but my dad continues to smoke quite profusely even in the house which absolutely drives me bonkers and is why I don't visit home very often. I've had respiratory problems from Bronchitis to Pneumonia my whole life because my parents smoked a lot and that's a big reason why I chose the Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act Bill of 2009. Kids are affected by tobacco and advertising every day no matter if they want to believe it or not; it's impossible to get away from advertising and marketing campaigns because technology is everywhere! It's really a shame because some kids don't have a choice if their parents smoke like in my case. I'm very passionate about this subject not only because of my health issues, but because smoking and tobacco is extremely bad for you (i.e. various cancers, respiratory problems, and emphysema), it's nasty and smells terrible especially on people. The overview portion of our bill that we chose gave me even more staggering and mind blowing statistics regarding tobacco and its effects on people and society. I learned a lot more of vital information about tobacco and smoking after doing some research for the overview section so I'm glad we got the opportunity to do that.

Lastly, we conducted a photo essay on anything that we wanted regarding the environment. This was probably my favorite assignment to do the past weeks because the essay I chose is something that I've been doing my entire life which is living off the land including: hunting, fishing, and wild ricing among many other outdoor things. I'm glad that I got to share pictures of myself and my family doing what we've been doing for well over 80 years or so now and probably even before that. Hunting, fishing, and wild ricing is something that I've been passionate about my whole life and they're things that I will pass down to my children and grandchildren just like my dad and grandfather did with me.

In closing, it's been a very fun, interesting, and extremely fast paced last few weeks and I can't wait to see what's in store for the final few weeks ahead. I'm also looking forward to getting to know some new blog members and what they have to say. Again I still can't believe that the semester is just about over, unreal.            

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change: Week 4 Weekly Update

I have to admit that at first this SMART goal was a bit harder than I imagined, but after some resilience and dedication I am now able to follow my goal to a T. In case anyone forgot my goal is: I will drink five or fewer bottled beverages (Gatorade, Vitamin Water, Soda, etc.) a week and recycle all of them when finished drinking them. The hardest part of following my goal at first was that I purchased two cases of Gatorade and Vitamin Water prior to my SMART goal. I still did pretty well though I thought considering but still went over my quota. I recently tweaked my goal and added five beverages instead of three and found that to be much more manageable. Since I switched my goal a couple weeks ago I haven't gone over my goal. The holiday break didn't seem to hinder me at all in staying on track with my goal and I think it actually helped because I drank most of my beverages out of glasses. In fact, on black Friday I purchased a Bisphenol A free stainless steel water bottle to drink out of so I don't drink from plastic bottles. The best part of the purchase is that it was insanely cheap and good for the environment all at the same time! I don't plan on changing my goal and will stick to the five or fewer bottled beverages a week. Suggestions and advice are kindly offered and appreciated.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain  

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

From way long before I was born my family and I have been living off of the land in some way, shape, or form. When I say that I mean that we hunt, fish, blueberry pick and wild rice among other things such as: we've built our own houses, hunting shacks, and cabins along with burning wood for a heat source. My dad taught me at a very young age how to hunt, fish, blueberry pick, and wild rice and still do all of these things today. The picture above was taken a few years ago at our family cabin on Lake Vermillion of myself and my uncle Fred after we cut some firewood for the cabin.

 

These two photos are of our family's hunting shack and cabin. The one on the right is our family hunting shack which is located in Buyck, MN on the Echo Trail. We built this shack with our own hands in 1994 but had previous shacks long before I was born. The picture on the left is our family cabin which is located on Lake Vermillion in Cook, MN was constructed by my family members in 1970 and stands like the picture shows today. We use both of these sites for extended periods of time throughout the year especially during the MN grouse hunting, deer hunting, and fishing seasons.

These two photos represents the fishing that our family has done for many years. The picture on the left was taken last spring on Lake Vermillion of a walleye that I caught which was 27 1/2 inches and weighed around 8 pounds. I released the fish right after we took this picture. The picture on the right was taken by myself last spring of my dad and brother while fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. We catch the fish and eat them for a food source not only during the fishing season but throughout the year. We have huge fish fry's during Memorial Day weekend and usually throughout the season depending on what we catch. We use the family cabin pictured above as base camp during the MN fishing season on Lake Vermillion and we use the shack when we go to the BWCA. We clean the fish ourselves and recycle/compost the remains of the fish in the lake for other fish, birds, and animals to eat.

  

These photos represent the deer hunting and grouse hunting that my family has been doing for around 80 years. It all started with my grandfather who began hunting in the area around the 1930's. We process all of our deer ourselves. What I mean by that is we skin the deer and cut it up and package it ourselves to make ground venison, chops, jerky, steak, and polish. After we are finished cutting them all up we donate the hides to hides for habitat and we compost the remains in the woods for the other animals to eat. We gut the grouse out the same way and compost the remains as well in the woods. We usually make wild rice grouse soup with the breast of the bird. We also used to trap animals such as beavers, mink, otter, fisher, and pine martin, but we haven't trapped in some time now. As for the pictures, the picture on the left is of my dad with a grouse he shot this past deer season and the picture on the right is of myself and the deer I shot a few weeks ago. It was an 11 point buck with a 13 inch spread and 10 inch tines.

   

These photos above represent the wild ricing that my family and I have been doing for many years. My dad began wild ricing around 30 years ago or so and still does it to this day. I started ricing around 5 years ago and go every year now thanks to my dad passing it down to me and my brothers. We used to harvest and process the wild rice on our own but now we bring it to a guy in Cass Lake to get it processed. We use the rice to make hot dishes and casseroles or we simply just boil it in hot water. The picture above was taken this past fall in the Brimson, MN area around Two Harbors. The people above from left to right is myself, my brother Craig, my nephew Jacob, my older brother Jerry, and my Dad. My other nephew Tyler is taking the picture. The bags in front of us are filled with wild rice. We picked about 320 pounds total that day between all of us. It was a good day! My dad has taught me a lot of valuable things/skills that I will pass down to my kids and grandkids and for that I thank him very much.

      

                                       

  

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

This past week was the third week of my attempts to meet my SMART goal. I tweaked my goal just a bit the past week so that I would have a better chance of obtaining my goal. My new goal is as follows:

I will drink 5 or fewer bottled beverages beverages a week and I will recycle all of them when finished drinking them. This was a much more manageable goal just because like I've stated before I purchased two cases of Vitamin Water and Gatorade prior to making this goal. I've already begun to cut out drinking as much bottled beverages as possible and I did a much better job this past week in obtaining my SMART goal. I still drank some bottled beverages this past week but I didn't overdo my quota of five beverages, (Yay).  I want to thank my fellow blog members for offering some good suggestions and alternatives to drinking beverages that don't come from plastic bottles. Keep the suggestions and advice coming. I appreciate all suggestions and advice.

I will continue to use the same goal this coming week which is: I will drink 5 or fewer bottled beverages (Gatorade, Vitamin Water, soda, etc.) per week and I will recycle all of them when finished drinking them.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 Hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain 

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Goal: To reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.


What is the issue?
Tobacco use causes more than 440,000 deaths each year in the United States. For every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 more people suffer with at least one serious illness from smoking. Since the release of the 1964 Surgeon General's report on smoking and health, more than 12 million Americans have died prematurely due to smoking. Currently, estimates of annual smoking-associated economic costs in the United States are more than $167 billion. The sub-issue that I'm addressing is the proportion of adolescents and young adults (grades 9-12) who are exposed to tobacco advertising and promotion through the internet, magazines, and newspapers. Healthy People 2010 has moved away from its target by -333% in regards to the internet and moved towards its target by 57% in regards to magazines and newspapers.


Listed below is a piece of legislation proposed to address the issue:
H.R. 1261: Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act of 2009.


Who is affected by the issued?
Although there's a good majority of people who are affected by smoking and its harms, the people most affected by this particular issue are youth and adolescents grades 9-12. The group with the best rate for specified characteristic in regards to internet advertising and promotion were white non-Hispanics and the group with best rate for specified characteristic in regards to newspaper and magazine advertising were American Indian or Alaska Native. It's no surprise to me that white non-Hispanics are most affected by advertising via internet because of its availability and more often than not socio-economic status. Also, it's not a surprise that Healthy People moved away from its target in regards to internet advertising because of the growth and availability of technology. Technology is growing at a rapid rate and that aspect alone makes it tough to combat tobacco advertising.


What are the consequences?
Each year more than 400,000 Americans die from a tobacco-related illness, the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. More lives are lost to tobacco than those caused by fires, alcohol, suicides, car accidents, AIDS, illegal drugs, and homicides, combined. Most of these deaths occur in adulthood, but the damage begin on the onset of smoking which in about 90 percent of the cases, begins at or before the age of 18. 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. Second hand 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.


What is the economic/social impact of the issue?
Currently, estimates of annual smoking-associated economic costs in the United States are more than $167 billion. Tobacco products continue to be one of the most heavily marketed and least regulated consumer products in the United States. In 2005, the latest year for which information is available, the five largest cigarette manufacturers spent a total of $13.11 billion – or more than $35 million a day - to promote and advertise their products. A study published in the May 2007 issue of the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that retail cigarette marketing increased the likelihood that youth would start smoking; cigarette pricing strategies contributed to increases all along the smoking continuum, from initiation and experimentation to regular smoking; and cigarette promotions increased the likelihood that youth will move from experimentation to become regular daily smoking. Certain tobacco products are advertised and promoted disproportionately in diverse communities. Advertising and promotion of cigarette brands with names such as Rio, Dorado, and American Spirit have been marketed toward Hispanics and American Indians/Alaska Natives. African American communities have been bombarded with cigarette advertising. Since the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), the average youth in the United States is annually exposed to 559 tobacco ads, every adult female 617 advertisements and every African American adult 892 ads. Expenditures for magazine advertising of mentholated cigarettes, popular with African Americans, increased from 13 percent of total ad expenditures in 1998 to 49 percent in 2005. While positive trends are noted in eliminating tobacco-related disparities, continued and enhanced efforts across a broad spectrum of players, including the Federal Government, States, and the private sector, need to address tobacco use in racial and ethnic populations disproportionately affected by the health burdens of tobacco.


What are the barriers? How can they be overcome?
One of the huge barriers of tobacco is the constant advertising and growth of technology. Ads are all around us no matter where we go. Technology is also constantly growing and with that comes more and more advertising. Public health efforts continue to be partially offset by several factors that encourage smoking, such as lack of indoor air regulations, discounted tobacco prices, and smoking scenes in movies. Significant countervailing forces include increased advertising and promotions by the tobacco industry. In the time between the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 and the year 2003, cigarette company marketing expenditures increased by more than 125 percent. More than three-fourths of the total is for discount pricing or promotional allowances to retailers, which undercut the effect of tax increases. Another factor, which may slow or even reverse these positive trends, is the loss of funding for State tobacco prevention programs and national counter-marketing campaigns. Some ways to overcome these barriers are as follows: 

• Increasing tobacco prices.
• Sustained media campaigns.
• Smoke-free policies in workplaces and public places.
• Reduced out-of-pocket costs for cessation services.
• Telephone quit-lines.
• Prompts to clinicians to provide evidence-based intervention counseling.
• Community mobilization combined with additional interventions.

What are the resources?

There are many resources that people can obtain on the prevention of tobacco and it's health risks. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers some great resources and information on the affects and problems associated with smoking and other forms of tobacco use. Some other great resources are: The Truth, Smoke Free America, and The American Lung Association just to name a few.

What is the history of the issue?

Tobacco has a long history in the Americas. The Mayan Indians of Mexico carved drawings in stone showing tobacco use. These drawings date back to somewhere between 600 to 900 A.D. Tobacco was grown by American Indians before the Europeans came from England, Spain, France, and Italy to North America. Native Americans smoked tobacco through a pipe for special religious and medical purposes. They did not smoke every day. Tobacco was the first crop grown for money in North America. In 1612 the settlers of the first American colony in Jamestown, Virginia grew tobacco as a cash crop. It was their main source of money. By the 1800's, many people had begun using small amounts of tobacco. Some chewed it. Others smoked it occasionally in a pipe, or they hand-rolled a cigarette or cigar. It was not until James Bonsack invented the cigarette-making machine in 1881 that cigarette smoking became widespread. Bonsack's cigarette machine could make 120,000 cigarettes a day. The American Tobacco Company was the largest and most powerful tobacco company until the early 1900's. In 1902 Philip Morris company came out with its Marlboro brand. They were selling their cigarettes mainly to men. Everything changed during World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-45). Soldiers overseas were given free cigarettes every day. At home production increased and cigarettes were being marketed to women too. By 1944 cigarette production was up to 300 billion a year. Service men received about 75% of all cigarettes produced. The wars were good for the tobacco industry. Since WW II, there have been six giant cigarette companies in the U.S. They are Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, American Brands, Lorillard, Brown & Williamson, and Liggett & Myers (now called the Brooke Group). They make millions of dollars selling cigarettes in the U.S. and all over the world. In 1964 the Surgeon General of the U.S. (the chief doctor for the country) wrote a report about the dangers of cigarette smoking. He said that the nicotine and tar in cigarettes cause lung cancer. In 1965 the Congress of the U.S. passed the Cigarette Labelling and Advertising Act. It said that every cigarette pack must have a warning label on its side stating "Cigarettes may be hazardous to your health." By the 1980's, the tobacco companies had come out with new brands of cigarettes with lower amounts of tar and nicotine and improved filters to keep their customers buying and to help reduce their fears. The early 1980's were called the "tar wars" because tobacco companies competed aggressively to make over 100 low tar and "ultra" low tar cigarettes. In 1984 Congress passed another law called the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act. It said that the cigarette companies every three months had to change the warning labels on cigarette packs. It created four different labels for the companies to rotate. Since the 1980's, federal, state, local governments, and private companies have begun taking actions to restrict cigarette smoking in public places. The warning labels were the first step. As it becomes more difficult for tobacco companies to sell their products in the U.S., they are looking outside. U.S. tobacco companies are now growing tobacco in Africa, South America (Brazil and Paraguay), India, Pakistan, the Phillipines, Greece, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic. Fifty percent (50%) of the sales of U.S. tobacco companies go to Asian countries, such as Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Taiwan.

Allies and Opponents:

Allies of this issue would be health professionals, health organizations, and others who are concerned with the growing rates of tobacco use and tobacco advertisement campaigns. Some very useful allies would be: The Truth, Tobacco Free Kids, CDC, and The American Lung Association. Tobacco lobbyists, however would argue 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 smokers. I don't see any way of appeasing both parties on this issue. When one side benefits the other fails and vice versa in my opinion.

My Recommendation:

Vote YES on the Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act Bill of 2009!!!

Sources: Center for Disease and Control, American Lung Association, The Truth, Tobacco Free Kids, History of Tobacco, Smoke Free America, Healthy People 2010, Tobacco Control, and THOMAS.

Share and Voice: Amazing Grace

I was browsing the Northland's News Center website and found an interesting article about Amazing Grace in Canal Park and how it is very green friendly. Since Amazing Grace opened they have added more biodegradable options for taking out food. In the dining room they also take a unique route to remain green. The plates that the food is served on, comes from a variety of sources such as Goodwill. Also, if you are taking coffee to go, the cup is biodegradable, and the lid. It can all be recycled. Finally, the majority of the food sold at Amazing Grace is locally purchased. You can check out the video and site below.

Source: Amazing Grace