Share and Voice: Junking Photos

I decided to post some pictures from my junking project so you could see the whole thing. I originally had something else planned to make, but that fell through. So this is what I did. Though it might not be the most unique or elaborate things, I still though that they were pretty cool, and it has helped me to be a lot more organized. So take a look and tell me what you think..

This is how unorganized my stuff was before:

now its much better after thanks to a shelf from the goodwill

getting ready is much faster in the morning now that I dont have to dig for things

its hard to see, but I used old christmas bulbs to make stocking hangers for out mantle

Overall I thought that this really fun, and would like to continue to do this in the future.

Share and Voice: HP goes GREEN too

For health 4000 I had to buy a new printer to print off all of my papers.  I went to the school store, and really had no idea what to buy.  I was looking at the different options than something cool caught my eye.  I saw the HP box and on the side was a big section titled  "eco SOLUTIONS" I was very curious to see what this was.  On the box some of the information included:

• made with 30% percent recycled plastic
• you can recycle 100% of the packaging 
• includes a reusable to put it in
• printer cartridges contain up to 70% recycled materials

Also it seen that it was an energy star related product which I thought was really cool.

I checked out the website www.hp.com/ecosloutions and it included some really neat information.

• it included a carbon footprint calculator for your printer
• information about a HP Powers UN Climate Change Conference
• and information about HPs own recycling center. I found out that HP was the first computer company to have their own recycling center in 1997, and is on its way to recycling 2 billion pounds of products and materials

I think that its great that big companies are starting to do this.  And its definitely something to look for when shopping.

Share and Voice: Go Green During the Holidays Too

Since the Holidays are coming up I thought I would do something Christmas themed. Did you ever wonder what to do with your old Christmas decorartions.  Im sure we have all gotten hand me downs from our parents, but what do you do with them after that.  After all that we have learned this year we all know what can happen if you throw them away.. bad things.  Any ways there is some exciting news out that I heard on WCCO 4 news in the cities. You can now recycle your Holidays too!  Recycling lights isn't really a new concept, they are just making it a lot more convient by getting ACE hardwear stores involved.  Not only are we recycling,  but we are now even producing LED christmas lights at Target.  This Christmas they are hoping to collect 200,000 pounds of lights!   I included an interactive map that gives you a list of locations to recycle your lights at. 

For more information in this article you can visit:
http://www.recycleminnesota.org/
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/tag/recycle-your-lights/

Here is a list of locations you can drop them off at:
http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/community-projects/campaigns/recycle-holidays-2010#map

Share and Voice: Vegan Smoothies

Since my eco-chic goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables, I have been looking for new and fun ways to incorporate them into my diet.  One of my favorite things to have as a treat, or for breakfast is a smoothie.  I came across some pretty cool recipes online and thought that I would try one and share it with you.

Vitamin Greens Energy Vegan Smoothie Recipe

Mixed Greens
2 Carrots
2 Apples (core removed)
1 Cup Rasberries

I added some ice in there too. Also the websites says to make sure you add the fruit first, then the greens, then the harder vegetables because it will blend better.

I encourage you to find some that you like and try them out. They are quick and easy way to get lots of servings at once, and they keep you full!

Check out this website for more ideas!

Share and Voice: The Preserve Brand

I don't know if any of you have every heard of the brand Preserve, but I came across a toothbrush made by them the other day and target, and I couldn't help but take a second look at it.  When I took a closer look I was really pleased to see all of the great eco-friendly qualities this product had even down to the packaging which doubles as a mail back package so the tooth brush can be properly recycled.  Some of the other features include:

• made from recycled yogurt cups
• recyclable after use
• BPA free
• Made in the U.S.A
• No animal testing
• and a variety of colors to choose from
• Affordable Price of $2.99

Preserve offers a variety of other products as well including dishes, table ware, and storage containers.  There motto states, "Nothing Wasted, Everything Gained"  I thought that was a neat way of saying things.  And I encourage you to check out their website. http://www.preserveproducts.com/products.html

Share and Voice: John Robbins Blog

Since our class is all about blogging I thought that it would be neat for you guys to see someone else's blog that is not in our class.  Since John Robbins, the author of my book, is very passionate about the sustainability of our environment I thought that his blog would be fun to look at.  It offers a list of organizations that he is in, videos, news articles, and even links to facebook!  Anyways feel free to take a look and play around and see if you find anything that interests you.

Link to John Robbin's Blog

Share and Voice: Project Green Campus PSA

Since the topic of Recycling is so popular in our class I thought that this video would be perfect.  In methods class, which some of you may or may not have had, we had to make video PSA's.  I thought that this one was so great, and portrayed a good message. that I feel like it needs to be seen by everyone.  It was made by some students that you may know including Ashley and Haley our class TA's.  It also gives you a little idea of what you may be doing in Methods, and it shows some quality work.  Enjoy

Share and Voice: Can a Happy Meal Grow Old?

Over the past couple weeks in class we have been talking a lot of meat production, fast food industries, and overall food production in our Country.  The other day  I was on CNN news website and came across something very fitting.  Every one all over the world is familiar the one of the biggest fast food chains ever, McDonald's.   According to the McDonald's website they have been cooking up food and smiles since 1955.  They strive to offer many different things nutritious food, or their new sustainability plans.  However most of know that their food is not the most healthy. Its not surprising that it is sodium packed and full of preservatives.  But just how much preservatives is a good question and many are starting wonder the same thing.  A New York photographer thought he would do a little experiment.  He set out a happy meal and simply took a picture of it.  He wanted to see what happened to it as it aged.  He left it out for six months and wanted to take another picture of it.  To his surprise, the happy meal had not aged at all, there was no mold or signs of decomposition.  It really makes you wonder ?

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/10/15/happy-meal-stays-forever-young/

Share And Voice: Red Mug

I always like to explore new places and I love coffee, so a lot of times I find my self at different coffee shops around the area.  I decided last week that I needed a new place to sit down and read my book.  I was over in the Superior Area and was trying to think where to go when a friend suggested to me to try out the Red Mug.  I wasn't to aware of it before, so I thought why not give it a shot.  Much to my surprise it was a very neat place.  It was very trendy and had a very green feel.  They offer many art shows and different musicians each week.  Not to mention some very good coffee.  According to their website they serve only local, organic and fair trade coffee.  And when making their soups, salads, and other baked goods they try to use as many organic ingredients as possible.   Best of all they also use biodegradable cups!  Overall it was a great experience and if your ever in the are and like coffee or art, it would definitely be worth while to stop by.

Share and Voice: We like to Hike

So for this share and voice I was kind of at a loss of what to do but then I got this great idea!   One of the people in my blog group ( Alicia) is reading about how kids are not as connected with nature as they used to be.  Kids are staying inside more and more and people fear that because that they have such a disconnect to nature that they will not care as much if nature is destroyed or ruined.  Because I was very interested in this topic it kind of made me stop and think.  When was the last time I got out and really enjoyed my self in the outdoors?  I got kind of worried and realized that it had been quite a while so I thought why not go enjoy my self for a while.  After a short drive I ended up in Pattison Park, which is just outside of Superior, and was blown away by its beauty.  Me and a few friends walked for about two hours took pictures and just plain enjoyed ourselves.  It was almost as if we were kids again.  I left there feeling less stressed and just feeling good about my self.  But anyways I guess what Im trying to say is that we should all try to get out side and just enjoy our selves more. who knows you might even end up reliving some stress as well.

Share and Voice: Ride your Bike to Work Day

GET FIT AND BE GREEN:

We all know that there has been a push in our society to get people out and get moving.  Whether it be walking, going to the gym, or even dancing the push to get physically active has been great.  Another issue that much of our society is worried about is the amount of pollution that goes on in our world, much of it being from people driving their cars.  These are tow very important topics to discuss and I was thinking how great that they could be if we could focus on both at the same time.  The good news is that the city of Moose Lake did just that with the help of Carlton County Health Department.  On October 6th 2010 the city held its first annual "Bike to Work Day" along with a "Get Fit Walk".  I thought that this was a very innovative idea and think that it would be awesome if cities around the U.S also did events like this.  Essentially you are hitting both the topics because you are getting people out and about while also being environmentally friendly.  Fortunately I was lucky enough to attend part of this event and it was really great to hear and participate in this type of events.  I hope that more events like this will be able to happen in Duluth and maybe specifically on the UMD campus.

For more info about Carlton County Health Department and Events visit their website at:

http://www.co.carlton.mn.us/departments/public_health_human_services/public_home.htm

Share & Voice: Boys' and Girls' Club Goes Green

RECYCLED ART AT BGC!
At the Boys and Girls Club where I work we are teaching the importance of going green at a young age.  Kids do not always get the big picture of what is going on so its nice to be able to break it down in a more understandable way for them.  We began this summer by trying to explain the importance of recycling and how it can benefit our environment and also help to preserve our planet.  We taught them many ways that they can help out by doing little things every day.  We told them to try to get their family involved and to do as much as they could every day.  We wanted to also show them how reusing everyday products could not only be beneficial to our environment but how it could also be very fun.  So we introduced them into the fun of  recycled art.  We gathered many everyday recycled objects such as cans, bottles, and old pottery pots and turned them into beautiful works of art.  It was great to see the kids work so hard and turn junk into great art projects that they were very proud of.  Not only do we use recycled goods we are always accepting your donations  at the club!


For more info visit us at:


www.bgcnorth.org
www.myclublife.com 

Welcome to Sustainability With Sam

Hi my name is Samantha Jenson and I am a Senior Health Education Major. I love being around people and being able to strike up conversations with complete strangers. I think that getting to know people is very important in life so you can better understand who they are. I also enjoy going outside, enjoying nature, listening to music, and living an active lifestyle. I love to exercise and I love enjoying the outdoors. I just learned how to blog this year, but I am getting very excited be able to do it on a regular basis now. In this class my blog will be about why its important to sustain the environment and the resources that we have as well as many other important issues regarding nature, recycling, and environmentally friendly lifestyles.

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read "n" Seed
6. Share and Voice

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

The members of my web group are:

1. Brenda@Bare Foot in the Backyard With Brenda
2. Dane@ Dane's Trail of Health
3. JD@ Earth and Me With JD 
4. Alicia@ Out and About With Alicia
5. Matt@ Matt's Smoke Free Zone
6. Molly@ Molly's Rico Eco

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


Overall I think that this will be a very good experience learning how to blog this semester.

I look forward to reading every body's blog posts and others reactions to them. I think that it will be a great and new way for our class to interact together and look forward to the results.