5 Way to Live a More Sustainable Life!

Improving small habits throughout your daily routine can lead to a more sustainable life.  The human race can be extremely wasteful.  People who live in developed nations take many things for granted without knowing any better.  Below, are five small ways that can make your lifestyle more sustainable.   

1. Recycle

Recycling is great way to live a more sustainable life.  Throwing away valuable materials makes an enormous impact on the environment and the ecosystems that thrive within that environment.  Recycling can recover these valuable materials that are sourced from the irreplaceable natural capital of the planet.  

Me recycling my Starbucks coffee cup!

2. Drink tap water instead of bottle water 

Drinking tap water can help to reduce the amount of plastic.  If you don’t like the way your local tap water tastes, then buy a Brita filter.  Bottled water means garbage.   An enormous amount of plastic is used each year.  According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce (mnn.com). 

Cincinnati tap water

3. Use a reusable lunch box instead of using plastic lunch bags

When packing lunches make sure to use reusable things such as a tupperware and cloth napkins.  I use a plastic tupperware bin for my sandwiches to help reduce the amount of plastic bags.  This relates to the plastic bottles because using reusable things helps to reduce the amount of oil used per year to produce plastic. 

Use a reusable sandwich container 

4. Reduce the amount of laundry you do

Jeans and towels do not necessarily have to be washed every time you do a load of laundry.  Some people think this may not be sanitary, but I personally disagree and think it's a very sustainable idea.  Many gallons are needed to do laundry and with freshwater becoming scarce, this would be an excellent example of how to live a more sustainable life.

Reduce the number of loads of laundry you do

5. Unplug household appliances 

Unplugging household appliances can not only help to reduce the amount of electricity used (which leads to burning of fossil fuels), but it can save you money too! According to the Huffington Post, phantom energy (appliances that remain plugged in) can account for about 10 percent of an individual's home's electricity use.  This number may not sound like much, but if on average your electricity bill costs $150 a month, then you can end up saving around $180 per year.  Unplugging appliances such as a toaster, stereo, cell phone charger, and coffemakers can help you live a more sustainable life.

Unplugging household appliances saves you money and reduces the amount of electricity used

Work Cited

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/21/save-energy-by-unplugging_n_136625.html

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water

Collaborative Environmental Management

The Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District (HCRSWD) is a County organization responsible for ensuring that the County achieves State required goals for recycling and waste reduction. The District accomplishes these goals through the implementation of waste reduction programs directed to residents, communities, businesses, and schools.The video below was pulled from the organizations Youtube homepage – it’s a bit cheesy, but worthy video on how to properly recycle. 

Under the business tab on the HCRSWD website there’s a page titled - “Environmental Compliance Collaborative.”  The Environmental Compliance Collaborative is a group of local manufacturing representatives who meet regularly to  network, gain information, discuss ideas, and explore solutions to environmental regulatory compliance.  Federal, state, and local environmental regulations pertaining to air, water, and hazardous wastes are discussed by regulatory agency representatives.  The meetings are held at Tech Solve (see below for more information). The goal of the meetings is to better inform manufacturers so mistakes are avoided.



Screenshot showing TechSolve’s motives, meeting information, and contact information.

HCRSWD has a Twitter (@HamCoRecycling) and a Facebook account in which they post imporant videos and articles regarding environmental management.  Social media helps to spread the word.  +

MY CARBON FOOTPRINT

I was very surprised by my result.  I’m usually fairly good when it comes to not eating processed food, driving an excessive amount, and running up the electricity bill. In my opinion the most mind boggling stat was that if everyone were to live like me, we’d need 4.5 planets to provide enough resources - 4.5!  

I agree with the results.  It seems a bit unfathomable that if everyone lived like me, we would need four and a half planets to provide enough resources, but when you think about it roughly half of the worlds population doesn’t have electricity and don’t live a normal American lifestyle.  When things are put into perspective it can really change ones mindset. 

According to the pie chart my highest category is services at 44%.  Second is food at 22%, third is goods at 13%, and lastly are shelter and mobility at 11%.  I found it interesting that the food was the second leading contributor to my carbon footprint.   In the future I will be sure to take into account the services that contribute to the carbon footprint. 

I also found it interesting that to support my lifestyle, it takes 20.2 global acres of the Earth’s productive area.  This equates to 21.7 tons of carbon dioxide.  The leader for acreage is the land needed for energy.  A global acre is the unit we use to measure the productivity of an average acre of land.  More specifically, it represents an aggregate, world-average productivity for all biologically productive land and water in a given year (Global Footprint Calculator Network).

Pie chart numerical values (top right): Services 44%, Food 22%, Shelter 11%, Mobility 11%, Goods 13%

GREENING THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM

The two potential solutions (both being complicated) to “greening the economic system” are to change the makeup of the system or find creative ways to adjust existing incentives and constraints towards encouraging environmental protection.  From my carbon footprint, I found that the two largest sectors were services (44%) and food (22%).  Food and services go hand in hand because growing, farming, processing, transporting, storing, cooking, and disposing of the food that you eat produce greenhouse gas emissions everyday.  66% of my carbon footprint are related to services and food, so what are some creative ways to green the economic system?

Kroger (grocery stores) could receive incentives from the city if they only use paper/mesh bag when bagging groceries.  Grocery stores getting incentives to use paper/mesh vs. plastic would be better because the process of making plastic bags comes from a non-renewable resource.   Local farmer markets receive a monthly income from state governments to promote organic foods.  Organic farming methods for both animals and crops have a lower impact on the environment than normal methods.  Not only is organic food better for the environment, but healthy too!  Lastly, recycling and reusing items around the household is beneficial.  Glass jars and plastic containers make great storage options.  All three of these ideas would help to reduce the overall carbon footprint.          

Environmental security is an essential concept within nations.  It may not get the most national attention, but it is tremendously important.  Natural resources can cause all sorts of conflicts.  Two main topics that I’d like to discuss in regards to ways the federal government/state governments are addressing environmental security threats are fossil fuels (natural gas) and climate change.

The United States has seen a significant rise in natural gas production over the past decade.  This rise is so great that natural gas could very well cause a shift from coal to natural gas for electricity generation.  According to a new Duke University study, “The cost of complying with tougher EPA air-quality standards could spur an increased shift away from coal and toward natural gas for electricity generation.  The study goes on to describe that the stricter regulations on sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, and mercury may make nearly two thirds of the nation’s coal-fired power plants as expensive to run as powered by natural gas.

Natural gas is a much cleaner burning fossil fuel than coal.  Natural gas typically only produces one emission – nitrogen oxide.  I feel that the federal government is using this to address environmental security threats.  Their initiatives are that natural gas is abundant and that it is a cleaner burning fuel than coal.  I believe that the future for natural gas is strong.  The one thing that can be tricky is the boom/bust cycles.  These cycles are risks that should be taken for a cleaner energy source.  This brings me to the next topic: climate change.

Is climate change really an environmental security threat?  Yes, and it has received a considerable amount of attention through documents in many countries such as the United States, Germany and China.  I’m not trying to sound redundant, but burning coal for the next 40 years is not an ideal strategy.  Natural gas is cleaner for the environment and climate.  Years ago governments didn’t perceive climate change as a security threat; they depicted it as an environmental problem.  Al Gore has done a lot to describe climate change to the public through his novel, An Inconvenient Truth.  Climate change is something that will be present for decades to come.  

Work cited

http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/climate-change-now-seen-as-security-threat-worldwide/

 

  http://www.rdmag.com/news/2013/04/new-emissions-standards-would-fuel-shift-coal-natural-gas

 

 http://www.iar-gwu.org/sites/default/files/articlepdfs/Niloy%20Biswas%20-%20Is%20the%20Environment%20a%20Security%20Threat.pdf

Cincinnati on Climate Change

Many cities and states have developed plans to help mitigate climate change.  The city of Cincinnati has developed the Green Cincinnati Plan (GCP).  The GCP was approved in June of 2008.  Cincinnati is one of more than 1,000 U.S. cities that has committed to reducing its contribution to global climate change (cincinnati-oh.gov).

The Green Cincinnati Plan

The GCP identifies more than 80 specific recommendations for how to reduce contributions to global climate change.  These recommended actions generally share common themes: reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources, saving more money that the recommend actions cost, support local job creation/economy, help clean Cincinnati, and rely on voluntary actions rather than regulatory.  For a full look at the GCP click this link à http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/oeq/linkservid/4B125529-56A3-4675-929CEADF49B3663F/showMeta/0/  

Implementing the Green Cincinnati Plan

A Steering Committee was established with members from business, government, and environmental, academic, and civic organizations. Quarterly meetings serve as status updates and direction setting interfaces (Cincinnati-oh.gov).  After one year of establishing the plan, implementation activities and projects had begun for more than 60 recommendations.  Below are some examples of activities and projects

  

Effectiveness

I feel that these efforts are sufficient, but some not attainable.   In my opinion Cincinnati has established a few very effective ideas to meet the short-term goal that are most definitely attainable.  The two biggest ideas would be The Cincinnati Streetcar and a Hybrid Bus System.

Cincinnati Streetcar

Local transportation is large contributor of greenhouse gases, much of it from personal cars and light trucks.  A rail transit is a strategy that would save people money and alleviate congested highways.  Cincinnati is talking about constructing a Streetcar system, a fleet of electric powered streetcars that would operate along a 7.9 mile route between Downtown and uptown (cincinnati-oh.gov).  According to Cincinnati-oh.gov, the streetcar vehicle production is underway.  Below is a screenshot from the Green Cincinnati Plan.

Screen shot from CLIMATE PROTECTION ACTION PLAN - The Green Cincinnati Plan

Hybrid Bus System

Thousands of people travel on buses each day throughout Cincinnati.  Establishing a Hybrid Bus system would be great for the climate.  The GCP proposes that all Metro buses purchased in the future should be diesel-electric hybrids rather than standard diesel vehicles.  According to the document, Metro currently operates 390 40 ft. diesel buses.  Replacing these buses with diesel-electric hybrids will save fuel and significantly reduce CO2 emissions (GCP).  Below is the estimated greenhouse gas reduction to be achieved, according to the Green Cincinnati Plan.       

Screen shot from CLIMATE PROTECTION ACTION PLAN - The Green Cincinnati Plan

Work Cited

"CLIMATE PROTECTION ACTION PLAN The Green Cincinnati Plan ." City of Cincinnati. 231. Print. <http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/oeq/linkservid/4B125529-56A3-4675-

"Green Cincinnati Plan." City of Cincinnati. Office of Environmental Quality. Web. 29 Mar 2013. <http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/oeq/citywide-efforts/climate-protection-green-cincinnati-plan/>.

Cocoa Chocolate of Western Africa

Do You Eat Chocolate?

By: Brian Snodgrass

**Note: this is 1 of 5 videos that BBC produced.  Highly recommend watching the other 4! (Youtube)

I had no clue that about 60% of the chocolate in chocolate bars most likely come from cocoa beans in Western Africa (Ghana and Ivory Coast).  In addition, there is an enormous amount of child labor and child trafficking put into cocoa bean farming.  Children are smuggled from Burkina Faso into both Ghana and Ivory Coast because the tropical climate is perfect for cocoa bean farming.  Some of these children don’t see a single earning from the 10-12 hour days.  Billion dollar chocolate companies purchase thousands of pound of beans each year from western African ports.  

The next time I’m in a store I will most definitely think twice before purchasing a candy bar.  When I buy a chocolate bar I will be sure to look for the Fair Trade logo.   The logo (see below) is a certification system designed to allow consumers to identify goods which meet agreed standards.  In the chocolate case, the small farms don’t have market access therefore they rely on a middleman.  The middleman is usually unfair to the small farms.  Buying a product with the logo assures that the small farms in western African get a fair price, which allows them to have money for clothes, food, and school fees.

Fair Trade Logo (Google Images)

As a society we can address the problem of child labor and child trafficking by making the public more aware of the problem.  Airing documentaries on television is an excellent way to target the public.  Also labeling products is another way to address this problem.  As mentioned above, the fair trade logo has been slapped on a few big name products, which allows the consumer to identify goods that met agreed standards.  In addition, governments could sign laws or have international agreements to ban child labor/trafficking in western Africa.

 In 2000, BBC published a documentary about child labor, human trafficking, and farming cocoa beans in western Africa.  As a result, Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Eliot Engel developed the Harkin-Engel Protocol, signed in 2001.  The Harkin-Engel Protocol is an international agreement intended to end the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the production of cocoa.  The US government attempted for the big name candy companies to put child labor free logos on their products, but the companies were not in favor of this idea.  

__________________

Work Cited

Google Images.  Waywood.wordpress.com.  Blog. 15 March 2013 http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=fair+trade+logo&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=DEFDUd3MOZe64AObo4CwBQ&biw=1275&bih=668&sei=DkFDUY7LNs7h4APD7YD4CA#imgrc=AHi1nPqFjXjDGM%3A%3B8ByMM_U6bXrlbM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwaywood.files.wordpress.com%252F2008%252F07%252Ffairtrade_logo.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwaywood.wordpress.com%252F2008%252F07%252F22%252Ffair-trade-foul-play-spin%252F%3B1000%3B1175

Youtube. Chocolate The Bitter Truth 1 of 5 Child Trafficking BBC Panorama Investigation.  Runi Travel Videos.  15 March 2013.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD85fPzLUjo&playnext=1&list=PLOA_8QHMLBOFAQ8K%20ZWLT2NI40NASFCAMA  

All Recycling Program

In 2010 University of Cincinnati switched to a new recycling program, known as All Recycling.  Members placed All Recycling containers all throughout campus to promote its new recycling program.  The All Recycling containers located throughout campus carry the following labels to identify their purpose (See below).  Since 2010, UC has seen an increase in the amount of recycling and the number of trashcans located on campus.      

Logo found on recycling bins (Recycling @ UC)

List of recyclable materials (Recycling @ UC) Click for acceptable items for ALL RECYCLE program

In 2010, the University of Cincinnati recycled just over 4,600 tons of material, an increase of about 23 percent over the year before when UC recycled more than 3,700 tons of materials (Recycling @ UC).  We can thank the new All Recycle program for this dramatic increase.   According to Rick Wiggins, director of UC Facilities Management, UC currently diverts 65 percent of its waste stream into recycling, with the goal of taking that figure to 70 percent by 2019 if not sooner (M.B. Reilly).  “I’m anticipating that 2011 should be even better.  The 2010 rise in recycling occurred even though we only had our All Recycling program in place for six months of last year.  So, in 2011, we’ll have our All Recycling program up and running for the entire year.  That should bring even better results,” he stated. 

The overall meaning of this program is so that UC can decrease the amount of waste sent to the landfills.  In the past decade UC has reduced that amount by nearly 50 percent.  In addition to the All Recycling program, UC has a few other programs, one being the Bearcat Recycling program. 

   Bearcat Recycling

Bearcat Recycling is the University of Cincinnati’s program to recycle at special events and athletics games on campus.  This program started in 2007 as “Tailgate Recycling.”  Volunteers’ main focus was to recycle during tailgating at home football games.  By 2008, this program expanded to include recycling during the games and it 2009 it expanded to other large events such as the Sigma Sigma Carnival. 

With help from the new 2010 All Recycling program, the Bearcat Recycling was expanded to include all special events and athletics games on the Uptown Campus.  Most importantly, this was accomplished because of a grant from the ODNR for additional carts and bins and funding from student activity fees with enabled the Office of Sustainability to hire twelve Sustainability Advocates to staff the program (Bearcat Recycling).    

Bearcat Recycling Stats and contact info for recycling at a specific event (Bearcat Recycling)

Interviews

Carlton Brett, University of Cincinnati, Professor of Geology 

After interviewing Carlton Brett, who has been a professor at the university for many years, he was able to shed some light regarding recycling here at the university.  He stated that, "Recycling is a great thing at the university and the All Recycling Program is very beneficial to the campus."  In addition, he said, "people are starting to not use the recycling bins as much as they did in 2010 and 2011."  This made me realize that a new approach should be taken to get people to start using the bins like they once did.  A good idea could be to make the trashcans a fluorescent color to get peoples attention.

Patrick Cullen, University of Cincinnati Geology Student

Patrick Cullen has been a student here at the University for 4 years, and will be graduating this Spring.  The first question that I asked Pat, was if we was aware of the All Recycling program, his response was no, but he did say that he uses the recycling bins every now and then.  He also stated, "I think recycling is a great idea for the university.."   

(Interviewed with Cheyenne Hassan on 3-7-13) 

Work Cited 

"Bearcat Recycling." UC.edu. N.p.. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://www.uc.edu/af/pdc/sustainability/campus_initiatives/recycling_and_waste/bearcat_recycling.html>. 

Brett, Carlton, and Patrick Cullen. Personal Interview. 7 3 2013.

"Recycling @ UC." Facilities Management. University of Cincinnati. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://www.uc.edu/af/facilities/services/recycling.html>. 

Reilly, M. B. "Recycling Grows at UC – By Tons at a Time." UC News. 20 4 2011: n. page. Print. <http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=13485>.