BluPlanet

It's Not Easy Being Green

2008-06-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

The foundation of The United States government and our way of living is driven and motivated by the basic ideals of a capitalist society. This mentality and way of life has made our very young country very wealthly indeed, along with many of its society members. According to www.dictionary.com, by definition, capitalism refers to: an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth. In other words, business is business, and money makes the world go round. Given the ongoing and current concerns of the environment, is it even feasible for our businesses to go 'green' while maintaining a profit?

One theory suggests that continuous growth can be environmentally compatible if clean and efficient technologies are adopted, and if economies abandon production of material goods and focus on services. This is known as sustainable prosperity. Sounds pretty good, right? There's only one major concern: the cost it would take for businesses to adopt and comply might be inconcievable for many of them-literally putting them out of business. Most of American businesses are smaller, privately owned and operated; and the affordability factor to go 'green' is the major issue. In addition, in an effort to raise the capital needed to adopt the newer, more efficient technologies, layoffs would be inevitable.

It's so easy to point your finger at these companies and demand they be environmentally friendly; but if it meant losing your job, would you still be pointing? Bottom line: it's not easy going green in a capitalist society.

Global Warming

2008-06-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

Poverty

2008-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

I recently traveled out of the country and noticed that there are places in which the cost of living is much higher than here. Everything was more expensive than here in the United States and people get paid about five dollars a day! What would we do with that amount of money? I remembered reading more incredible facts such as how 50% of the world lives on less than two dollars a day. Searching for more facts I came to realize that here we spend a lot of money on cosmetics (about $8 billion), pet food ($17 billion), and of course the one thing many people hate: war (an incredible $780 billion). Why doesn't that money get used for better purposes, such as a better lifestyle for all people that need it? It is interesting to note that the richest 20% of the people account for more than three quarters of the world's income...why not close that gap between the rich and the poor? We should take into consideration our friends and family members in other parts of the worlds and if we can give them a hand because we do not know if they might be in a tighter squeeze than we are. Sometimes all they need is someone to talk to. Also remember what goes around comes around, so if you help someone out today, someday unexpected you might get helped back. So that's how you will be putting in your grain of sand to help fight poverty.
To read about some more fascinating facts about poverty today look at

http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp

2008-05-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Global Warming and the Polar Bears

2008-05-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Due to the growing concern of global warming and its effects on the polar ice caps, environmentalists have become more and more concerned about the Polar Bear population. According to the Los Angeles Times, “listing polar bears as “threatened” with extinction could trigger limits on development in oil and gas exploration in and around Alaska.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska states that the Polar Bear evolved from the common Brown Bears of the lower United States and is suited to live on the polar ice fields. With global warming melting away the bear’s natural habitat it is causing a reduction in the population due to their inability to get to their food source. According to the film “An Inconvenient Truth,” the melting polar ice will not only endanger the home of the Polar Bear, but will also endanger our home due to the raising ocean levels. The U.S. Geological Survey forecasts a “future reduction of sea ice in the arctic could result in a loss of 2/3 of the world’s Polar Bear population within 50 years according to a series of studies.”
If we don’t start looking for other ways to run our factories, cars, and our throw away lifestyles, we may be next on the endangered species list.

By Stacey

Prius: Environmentally Friendly? Or...

2008-05-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Aww... the Prius...what would you think if you invested your hard working money into a car that deceivingly paraded around as the ultimate 'green car' only to find that your good moral consciousness has in fact, misguided you into making a rash purchase based on phenomenial marketing techniques that banked on current trends revelling in the political and environmental arena?(Ahh...now you can breath.)

Personally, I wouldn't believe it. Because nobody, especially not a respectable company like Toyota, would promote their product, the Prius, to be the most environmentally friendly of cars, when other research has shown, it does more damage to the enviroment than the world's most hated SUV, the Hummer. How is that possible? And are these allegations valid?

In essence, it comes down to the manufacturing of the nickle based battery the Prius possesses. The nickle, which is mined and smelted in Ontario, has devasted the land so drastically, that life no longer exists for a radius of miles and miles. However, other sources are quick to point out that the land had been previously destroyed over the last 30 years prior to the existence of the nickle plant. But this is just the start of the problems for the nickle based battery. When you take into consideration the battery's travel route, from Ontario to Europe to China to Japan to the U.S., one can't help but to wonder the impact this vast container ship has on the environment. This, in addition to the Prius's costs of an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles, which is the expected lifespan of the Hybrid; the Hummer, with an average cost of a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles, starts to looks a little more appealing.

Maybe by 'Going Green', Toyota was really just shedding some truthful light on their premium priced cars, and not the affects on the environment. But you decide for yourself. Check out these controversial websites that support both sides to the issue.

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Green_Car_News/Prius_Versus_HUMMER_Exploding_the_Myth.S196.A12220.html
http://www.katu.com/news/7561002.html

Take a Moment

2008-05-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

As many may have noticed our posts seem to focus on some of the aspects in which our planet is suffering so its time to try something a little different...Hope you enjoy. Today, we are so busy with our daily life that we sometimes do not see life's beauties. While doing our daily routine, we might be so busy that life might just pass as by. Although we know that everything in this world has its problems everything has something great about it as well, so why not take the time to appreciate it before it is too late. Beauty is all around us just have your camera near by and flash around and you will see it. So why not try it and if you have a great picture and you want to share with someone, share it with us. So the lesson is to take a moment sit back and just enjoy the beautiful views in front of us.

Here's the link to my friend's video showing us more beautiful pictures, hope you enjoy them as well.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hkKf4jh_f8c )

~Damaris

Cindy Crawford on GMA

2008-05-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Again, on GMA (my favorite morning show these days) there was a segment with Cindy Crawford on being eco-friendly. I thought all this exposure would die down after Earth Day passed, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I can see with all the attempts to reach people on “going green” (this blog not excluded) some people might be getting irritated which could turn this positive movement into something negative. So try not to let that happen. The frequency of these messages is important because the message is important and so very relevant to all of us.

Back to Cindy….I like that she admitted that it can be overwhelming to think about all the things that we should change because I feel that way too. What she suggested is to start small—you don’t have to change everything. But if you can tweak something here and there, it can all add up. For instance, stop using plastic water bottles ALL THE TIME--buy an aluminum bottle to replace the one in the car; unlplug your cell phone charger; unplug appliances not being used. Small changes all add up.

If you’d like to see the full interview, please click on the link below. You’ll have to sit through a commercial before you get to the meat of the interview.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Springtime/story?id=4798016&page=1

~Tiffany

What the future looks like

2008-05-06T18:22:00.001-07:00

Imagine camping like that or how about washing your car like that...

kermit's thoughts on being green

2008-05-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

Cool Links

2008-04-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Check out the links on the right side of the page under “Sites Worth Seeing.”

The Ecological Footprint Quiz is where you can calculate the size of YOUR ecological footprint.

Ideal Bite is a cool website/blog that I saw on Good Morning America.

Bags on the Run is a site where you can buy reusable grocery bags.

Redefining Progress is one of my current professor’s websites. There’s some cool stuff on there like carbon footprinting. It’s easy to read and understand. It even has a glossary of terms under the ‘basics’ tab which I find very helpful.

Then there’s a link to Sierra Club which has a wealth of information (doh!), Oprah’s site (of course she's involved in this as well), and then could we leave off Al Gore??

We’ll be adding more as we discover more cool things so check back regularly!!

~Tiffany

Global Warming

2008-04-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the recent commercials that make fun of all the recent strange weather patterns? How about the video above (hope you enjoyed seeing all the people doing their daily routine in the strange climate)? Who is to Blame? Some say we are, some say that it is normal, however, what is the truth? Humans have been partially responsible for the recent weather changes. We have been responsible for the excess amount of fossil fuels and of carbon dioxides in the planet. This causes a blanket effect, which traps in the heat closer to the ground, causing the global warming crisis we are facing today. These are things that we unconsciously have been doing by using things that we need such as cars. This means that in order to improve our planet we must try to reduce the emissions and take care of what we spread out into the air or get used to dressing in a weird manner as we can see in the picture.
For more information: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/Fingerprints.html
~Damaris

Pros and Cons BioFuels

2008-04-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

As gasoline prices and global warming concerns continue to climb, this is giving an incentive for nations to look for sustainable fuel sources that will curb the world’s dependence on oil and will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Everyday oil is dwindling and gasoline prices increase making the search for sustainable and cheap fuel a smart investment. According to Tony Lima, a Professor of Economics at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB), says, “As oil’s price increases it gives greater incentives to find and use substitutes. Therefore a higher price for oil makes investment in alternative fuel industries more attractive.”
The main fuel sources that many are researching are biofuels. According to the Birmingham Post, “biofuels are plant-based fuels, either ethanol made from sugar or grains, which can be added to gasoline and biodiesel, derived from oilseeds or palm oil and added to diesel.”
The Independent in London says “that today’s biofuels are mainly alcohols or other hydrocarbons distilled from the residues of specially-grown crops such as sugar beets.”
According to The Independent, the major advantage to Biofuel is they are carbon-neutral and “when biofuels are burned they are only releasing the CO2 which was absorbed from the atmosphere by the crops used to produce them as they grew.”
Many countries other than the U.S. are looking into new resources, “Brazil has long been a biofuel powerhouse, using its vast sugar industry to make ethanol. Some industry experts say it could become a ‘Saudi Arabia’ of biofuel,” said the Birmingham Post.
Using corn to make ethanol has become an attractive investment for the U.S., which is the world’s largest energy consumer, and Europe it putting its efforts into biodiesel, according to the Birmingham Post.
According to The Independent, “the U.S. has recently woken up to their attractions and is surging ahead with production’ by 2010 its output will rival Brazil’s.”
Biofuels have been painted as the answer to the world’s energy problem, but there are many that don’t believe biofuels to be the fix-it answer. According to Chemical Week, “the major concern is that the amount of land clearing necessary to support a global market for biofuels dramatically increases greenhouse gas emissions.”
When asked about the effects of ethanol production to the agricultural industry in the U.S., Professor Lima said, “Nothing very good can come, mainly because a really foolish U.S. law requires that all ethanol used as fuel in the U.S. must be made from corn. There are also tariffs on imported ethanol.”
One of the goals of converting from gasoline dependence to biofuel sustainability is to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. According to Chemical Week, “Many previous studies have found that replacing gasoline with ethanol made from corn modestly reduces greenhouse gases, while, cellulose-based ethanol substantially reduces greenhouse gases.”
At this point in time there are many nations searching for cheap renewable fuel that will bring the world away for our dependence on oil.
When asked is there a fuel that is economically better than oil, Professor Lima said, “not today, but at $100.00 a barrel, there may be some that are close, probably biodiesel (filtered used cooking oil) is closest.”

By Stacey

Myths

2008-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

I saw these myths on Good Morning America the other day. The info is from a company called Ideal Bite (http://www.idealbite.com/). I just wanted to share.....

Myth 1: You shouldn't keep turning your computer on and off because you'll wear it out.
Computers purchased in the last 10 years will not be damaged by lots of powering on and off. Today's PCs are designed to handle 40,000 on/off cycles before a failure, and that's a number you likely won't reach during the computer's typical five-to-seven-year life span.

Myth 2: Online banking might save paper, but it increases the chance of identity theft.
Internet banking actually reduces the threat of identity theft and banking fraud. In fact, a study by Javelin Strategy & Research found the average time to detect fraud for online banking users was 18 days; for non-online users it was 114 days. Online banking also uses 128-bit encryption, one of the most advanced technologies available for safeguarding sensitive information.

Myth 3: Compact fluorescent light bulbs might lower your energy bills, but they contain too much mercury to make them good for the environment.
CFLs have a very small amount of mercury, but nothing compared to the mercury created by mining coal for electricity, which incandescent bulbs use 10 times more of. Thus, using compact fluorescent bulbs actually reduces mercury pollution, because CFLs use far less electricity than incandescent bulbs.

Myth 4: Alkaline batteries are recyclable.
Most alkaline batteries collected through household battery collection programs are disposed of in hazardous waste landfills; even stores that have take-back programs admit they often end up in the trash. Ideal Bite recommends buying re-chargeable batteries, which not only can be used up to 30 times, but also can be recycled.

Myth 5: Plastic bottle lids can be recycled just like plastic bottles.
If the lid is of type 1, 2, or 3 plastic (visible in the triangle on the inside of the lid) the lid may be placed in the recycling bin separate from the bottle. All other lids are not recyclable and should be placed in the trash. If these lids do end up in recycling, workers have to sort through and remove them. For efficiency's sake, remove your lids and properly dispose of them — it will make the recycling program more cost efficient by requiring fewer employees to sort.

Myth 6: Beauty products labeled "natural" and "organic" follow strict guidelines ensuring they really are natural and organic.
There are no federal certifications for the labels "natural" and "organic" when it comes to beauty products. Anyone can claim their product is natural or organic. The best thing to do is carefully read the list of ingredients, or consult the cosmetics data base Skin Deep (http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/splash.php?URI=%2Findex.php ) which analyzes many beauty products for safety.

Myth 7: You can really save gas by rolling down your car windows instead of using the A/C.
This is only true if you are going 45 mph and under. Kick on the A/C if you are going more than 45 mph, then the air drag from the windows ruins the fuel savings from not using the A/C.

~Tiffany

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

2008-04-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I’m sure many of you have heard about how bad plastic is for our environment. Even SF banned grocery stores from using it and many other California cities are going to ban it as well. There are 19 million plastic bags used each year in California. That’s a lot of plastic. But that doesn’t even count the plastic water bottles we use and all the other plastics that we use each and every day. An April 9, 2008, article in The New Republic stated “the United States churned out 120 billion pounds of plastic resin in 2007, double the amount produced 20 years ago.” We know it’s not biodegradable, so where does it go?

It’s a place called the North Pacific Gyre and it accumulates all the debris that doesn’t make it the recycle locations. It is also known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Lovely, huh? It is twice the size of the state of Texas! If you want more info on it, just Google “plastic in pacific ocean” and you’ll find many articles on this. Below are links to a few of the articles. Shocking!

http://www.ecocycle.org/askeco-cycle/2005/1028.cfm

http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/10/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL&type=politics

~Tiffany

Hyperawareness

2008-04-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow! I had always heard snippets here and there on the news or commercials regarding “going green” but not until starting this blog did I realize just how much information there is out there about reducing our carbon footprint. Call it hyperawareness on my part or…..you could call it “Earth Day is Coming Up.” Regardless, it’s nice to know there is really a lot of information at our fingertips of how we can do our part to help the environment. We know that we can’t continue to do things the way we are doing it now….it just won’t work.

~Tiffany

Hey Out There...

2008-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

If there is a topic that you are curious about and would like to find out more about it, please post it and we will find information on it and will post what we learned. We will try to give you the most accurate information that we can find. Thanks and hope you enjoy this site as much as we will.

~Damaris

Houston We Have Liftoff...

2008-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

What We Are: BlūPlanet

Who We Are: 4 College Students

Why We're Here: To inform you of the good, the bad, and the ugly that exists in the current movement to go green. We dare to explore every frontier of the popular green trend by exposing the hidden truths to the untrained eye. (Within the 10 weeks we have this class.)

Why You're Here: To listen to our ideas and, hopefully, you will return the favor by posting your own words.

Previous Tips

2008-04-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

5.7.08: Buy organic - Organic foods are better for people and the planet too. Prevent the spread of toxic chemicals in our air, water and soil by bringing home organic.

4.28.08: Having a lot of food stuff stocked up in your frig is really important because it helps make it more energy efficient. The more items you have in there, the less hard it has to work to keep everything cold.

4.18.08: 90% of cell phone charge uses evaporates into the air when it’s not plugged into the phone. A power strip can help….just turn it off.