New York Pizza and Bar - Bellingham

So I went to dinner last night at New York Pizza and Bar in downtown Bellingham on State St. When we were all sitting at a table in the bar we noticed a little piece of paper that said "The Green Slice." it was a photo contest looking for people to what people thought "Going Green" meant. You can post your pictures on their fan page anytime before November 15th. The winner of this photo contest wong a V.I.P. night for two at New York Pizza which included dinner, dessert and drinks. I thought this whole thing was really interesting because this is a fairly new business and they are trying to do something to show people they want to be a greener business. I wasn't too sure how well this was actually going to work so I decided to check out their "fan" page. I was not too surprised with the results, there were only a couple pictures actually posted. New York Pizza was definately hoping to get more business with this and build their brand awareness throughout the Bellingham community. Since this is a new company, and they are not directly in the middle of downtown, they need to get their company out there more and make people more aware of what they have to offer. This "go green" picture contest was a way they thought they could not only build their awareness but also increase their overall target market. Whenever I go in there it consists of mostly college students in the bar later on in the night. The dinning room itself isn't too busy yet, but again they just opened. Their food is delicious and they have something for everyone so once they get out there and more people are aware of where they are, their business will definately increase.

Udated EF

This week I have improved on my efforts towards my ecological footprint. When I went to the grocery store I actually remembered to bring my reusable bags for the first time which was nice. I also purchased a lot of organic fruit, but I have noticed that sometimes the organic food does not look as good as the other fruit. I have also noticed the organic food seems to go bad a lot quicker than the other. This is one downside because I normally don't eat all m fruit within a couple days, normally it takes all week. I also took the bus instead of driving once this week. I need to work on this because I drive a lot more than I really need to. I went back to Seattle last weekend too for the Huskies game but we took the bus to the game and back home. It seems a lot easier to ride the bus in Seattle because there are so many more buses and stops because the city is a lot bigger.

"Food Experts Worry as World Population and Hunger Grow"

While reading this article, I found it very interesting to see how many people are not able to eat on a daily basis. The article stated, "the number of hungry people in the world rose to 1.02 billion this year, or nearly one in seven." To me, this number was astounding. It seems crazy how many people live day to day wondering if they will get enough food for them and their families while we sit here eating whatever and whenever we please. The article goes on to say, "the resources and techinical knowledge were available to increase food production by 50 percent in 2030 and by 70 percent in 2050 - the amounts needed to feed a population expected to grow to 9.1 billion in 40 years." With a growing population like ours, we all need to make more of an effort to change our ways and help others realize the impact we are having. We need to build awareness among our nation and spread what we are learning, teaching people how to change our impact for the better. Although there are ways of producing food at this measure, it is degrading our land at a substantial rate and we cannot replenish the land quick enough. There has been many failed efforts in the past to change world hunger and these still lurk around, waiting for the next victim. The article further explains, "the so-called green revolution of the 1960s and 70s ended the specter of mass famines then, but the environmental cost of chemical fertilizers and heavy irrigation has spurred a bitter divide over the right ingredients for a second one." Although we are trying to solve the problem of world hunger, we are not going about it in a sustainable manner. We need to find a way to grow produce at a rate quicker than we currently are, but without degrading the land with the fertilizers and other damaging effects.

Something else the article points out is the land used to make more biofuels. The article explains with the more crop land used for biofuels, "as scores of food riots in 2008 showed, oil prices and other income shocks can quickly drive millions more people into hunger, sending ripples of instability around the world." Yes, we are trying to lower our ecological footprint by using biofuels, it is actually having a detrimental effect on the land and the people around it. The idea behing biofuels is really smart and could work really well, we are just going about it all wrong and not considering all of the side effects, both good and bad. We need to come up with a way of creating more sustainable products whose production does not have such a detrimental effect on the earth itself.

Looking at this and thinking about my ecological footprint, it made me realize how detremental we are on the earth. Although everyone has an impact, I believe the United States itself has the largest impact and we are bar far the most wastefull country there is. When you look at how much we each and how little everyone else does, you can't help but think about everyone else. We throw away leftovers constantly without regards, but there are people across the world wondering when their next meal will be. This article has made me realize how impactful I am on the earth and how I really need to make more of a concious effort to change my habits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/22food.html?_r=1&hp

My EF so far...

So far I am doing pretty well with my ecological footprint. I rode the bus the other day to school instead of driving, which is by no means easy for me. I love driving my car so this has always been tough for me to do. This week instead of having steak like I usually do, I am having halibut for dinner. It is still meat, but it does not have the same effect on my footprint that steak would have. This week when I went to the grocery store all of the produce I purchased was organic. I have already changed all of the lightbulbs in my apartment to energy efficient ones, so this goal for now is pretty much done. I am going to try and convince my parents to do the same, but I think they already have energy efficient lightbulbs throughout the house. I have decided to add another goal to my previous three. I am going to try and bring reusable bags to the grocery store instead of constantly using their plastic bags. I think the hardest part of this will be remembering to bring the bags to the grocery store. I am trying to come up with some more ways to lower my impact, but haven't come up with too many feasible ideas yet.

GE's Ecomagination

After reading about GE and their continual efforts towards a more sustainable company, I found they were very compelling and trustworthy. Looking at their annual report they listed everything they successfully achieved and they goals for the future. All of this was very specific and detailed giving you a clear picture as to what they wanted to accomplish for their company in the future. There were a couple different parts that I found to be very interesting about thought they had some really good ideas that other companies should learn from and work into their goals.


They began talking about their "New ideas in wind energy take flight" which had to do with creating a newer and more efficient wind turbine. Although this is a huge challenge no one else has thought to tackle, GE is right there with new and improved ideas. They are trying to make bigger, longer, more areodynamic blades, but the challenge is making them light enough not to take away from the efficiency category. They have decided to make them out of carbon composites, "which are comprised of carbon fibers and resins, providing a sstronger and lighter alternative to the current materials." They have implemented this into many of their current products such as the fan case for the GEnx, "Aviation's newest aircraft engine platform for wide body aircraft. In both engines, reductions in weight have led to improved fuel economy and performance over previous generations engines." I found this to be pretty fascinating since GE is a worldwide brand who is constantly making efforts to be better and more sustainable across their entire company.

http://ge.ecomagination.com/

Personal Care Products

After looking up the lotion I use on a fairly regular basis, I was shocked to find out the ingredients in it and how they are affecting me. I use Queen Helene's Cocoa Butter Hand and Body Lotion; it scored 7 out of 10 on the hazard list. While reading the label, some of the ingredients i did not know and I also thought it was interesting to see how many colored dyes were added to the product. To me this all sounded crazy because it is just a lotion. The scores of its ingredients are as follows:

• 0: water, theobroma cocoa seed butter


• 1: mineral oil, stearyl alcohol, FD&C Red 40


• 2: Sodium lauryl sulfate, stearic acid


• 3: Glyceryl stearate, disodium EDTA


• 4: Propylene glycol, D&C Red 33, FD&C Yellow 6, Lanolin


• 6: Diazolidinyl Urea


• 8: Fragrance, Methylparaben

The one I found most astonishing was the fragrance. Most people buy lotion not only for what it does, but for the way it smells. The smell of a lotion is truly a big deal for a lot of people and it is one of the most hazardous ingredients. I honestly don't need this particular lotion so I don't think I will continue using it. With my job however, we are constantly using sanitizer for cleaning so it dries out your hands really quickly and because of it, we all use lotion for moisturizing purposes. After seeing the hazardous effects the fragrance alone has on this product, I am going to find a fragrance free lotion instead. I looked up another lotion I have used in the past and it scored a 3 overall. This lotion was the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion and it happened to be fragrance free. I think I will definately go back to using this old lotion because it worked perfectly fine for what I was looking for. I am going to continue lookin up other lotions and personal care products in general to find ones that have the least impact on me and the environment.

"Where Computers Go To Die - and Kill" By Elizabeth Grossman

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/04/10/ewaste/

This article is about e-waste and where it is all going. When your electronics break down, you take them to an electronic recycling company where you believe they are recycling your electronics here in a safe and contained environment. This is not always true. A lot of the electronics we think are being recycled are actually being shipped overseas to third world countries where it is not being disposed of properly. Shipping e-waste to other countries has been illegal since 2000. This article specifically talks about the e-waste being shipped to China. The people living in and around these e-waste trash yards are being paid $2-$4 a day to sift through hazardous chemicals just to find the bits and pieces which are recyclable. The hazardous materials are causing lots of issues which include:

• Contaminated water: "Scientists found the level of lead and other metals in the water supply were 400-600 times the international standards for what is considered safe."
• Cancer concerns
• Environmental degradation

We are exploiting low-wage countries as a dumping ground for electronic waste. Many of the recycling companies are selling their e-waste to company after company and it gets sold so many times that once it finally reaches these third world countries it is extremely difficult to trace.

Something the United States needs to do is sign the Basel Convention, which we have continually refused to ratify in the past. The Basel Convention is an international agreement designed to curtail trade in hazardous waste. Under this convention, leaded CRT glass, mercury switches, parts containing heavy metals, and other elements of computer scrap which are considered hazardous waste cannot for any reason be exported for disposal. Although, under certain conditions, electronics can actually be exported for reuse, repair and recycling. Because of this, there is a huge gray area where we are getting away with shipping the e-waste.

With all of this occurring, we need to find a way to help preserve the world and stop the shipments overseas. Although this is going to be a very difficult and daunting task, it is something that needs to be done and the sooner the better.

You Tube Video: —http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr1zQrXM_7s&feature=related

Apple Unveils 'Industry's Greenest Notebook'

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2008/10/15/apple-unveils-industrys-greenest-notebook/

Apple is one company actually putting forth an effort to help change the sustainability of electronics. They have changed a lot of the products to contain far less toxic and hazardous materials. This was deffinately not easy and by no means lowered their cost of production. It is something Apple felt was needed and so far they are succeeding. So far Apple has introduced both the MacBook, 15-inch MacBook Pro and their new iPods, which are made from recyclable aluminum and come with LED-backlit displays containing no murcery and they are made with arsenic-free glass. Both new laptops meet Energy Star 4.0 requirements and contain no BFR's

(brominated flame retadants), which are said to cause cancer. To go with this, the internal cables and components are PVC free (polyvinyl chloride). When PVC is both produced or burned, it releases dioxins. These dioxins are "the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems."

Seeing all of the hazardous materials Apple has elimated from its products is huge. Although their price has not dropped, they have implemented some new standards which make their product far more recyclable than any other electronic. They have also implemented something they call a "take-back option." This take back option is which gives its customers the option of having them recycle thier old PCs regardless of who the manufacturer is. Apple will pay for all shipping necessary for you to recycle your old PC. This new option has shown really good results, "recycling volume grew 57 percent in 2007, and the recycling rate reached 18.4 percent of sales, according to Apple’s 2008 Environmental Update." This gives its customers more of a reassurance that the electronics are being disposed of properly and not shipped overseas.

According to this article, "recent research showed that one-third of adult Internet users think of Apple as the most eco-friendly consumer technology brand, compared with Dell at 21 percent and HP at 15 percent." This is very interesting seeing as HP is the number 1 ranked evironmentally friendly company in a Newsweek article from September 28, 2009. Overall, there is a lot that needs to be done in order for all electronic companies to be producing more sustainable products. This is definately a difficult area to be making stustainable, but so far there are several companies making huge efforts towards more sustainable products.

Canadian Study Scrutinizes Carbon Capture

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/canadian-study-scrutinizes-carbon-capture/?scp=1&sq=environmental%20issues&st=cse

My article for the week discusses the unintended consequences of carbon capture and storage (C.C.S) technology. A study from the University of Toronto's Munk Center for International Studies found there could be a huge environmental consequence of holding large amounts of carbon dioxide so close to the earth's mantel that was never seen before. They use this technique "for pumping carbon dioxide into dwindling oil wells to force out the remaining crude. The hazards something like this faces include the following.

• Scale: deep geological carbon dioxide storage would go from 5 megatons per year to more than 22,000 megatons annually by the end of the century. Thomas states "this will involve extensive new facilities and pipelines that would rival the world's oil industry infrastructure."


• Water contamination: The amounts of CO2 being dispursed is so large that experts fear the CO2 will actually displace the brine, instead of dissolving or binding with subterranean mineral deposits. This would end up contaminating the groundwater reserves.


• Water use: "The process required to capture and then compress carbon dioxide at a conventional coal-fired plant will need much more water than the same plany without carbon capture technology becaust carbon capture technology is energy-intensive."


• Unexpected leaks: earthquakes, geological fractures and old oil well all have a great potential of releasing CO2. Although the CO2 is suppose to be trapped under the rock caps, these unexpected occurrances can all release "contaminants buried with the CO2, as well as leaks of a gas that can poison plants, animals and humans.


• Liability: the fact that aquifiers straddle national borders, it would not be clear as to who should be held responsible in the case of an oil leak.

I found it very interesting to see how many different side effects this technique actually has on the planet. It is amazing how people can actually overlook consequences such as these just to get a single resource, in this case, crude oil. This article was very interesting because I did not know this was happening and I feel it is very important seeing the side effects it is having on the environment.

Update of my sustainability efforts

This past week I have been working harder on my footprint. Last week I rode the bus twice to school, which is actually a big step for me because I drove every day last year to school. This is not too easy for me to do since my car is something I use every day and I truly enjoy driving. I went and bought some energy efficient light bulbs to replace some of the ones we have in our apartment right now. I have not changed all of them yet but I do plan to throughout the next couple weeks. The one I am having the most trouble with is eating in a more sustainable way. I enjoy the foods I already eat and I am a slightly picky eater so changing this will definately be a challenge for me. When I went to the grocery store this week though, all of the produce I bought was organic. It was a little more expensive compared to the regular stuff, but it all tastes the same to me. Overall, I feel I am doing a little better with my footprint. I am interested to see how my score will change at the end of the quarter.