:: Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review & Overall Project Reflection ::

:: WEEK 5
How is it that it is already week five of our Eco-Chic Lifestyle change? That time has really flown by. Five weeks ago, I started out on a journey to use only reusable bags when shopping at the grocery store or places such as Wal-Mart or Target. This last week was another rather easy week. Once again I hardly went shopping (and here I thought I shopped way too much in the past). How sad really...I can only think of one shopping trip to Wal-Mart and I was just tagging along with a friend. I ended up getting three items and simply carried them out in my hands. My friend, on the other hand, ended up leaving with four plastic bags. I must admit that I felt slightly defeated at the fact that he had used plastic bags. I will have to educate my friend more on why it is so important to not use plastic bags.

 Junk floating in the Tiber River in Rome, Italy. GROSS!!!

Oh wait...there was one other trip to Wal-Mart. My oldest and I went in to get some stuff for my dad's birthday. I remembered to grab one bag to bring in with us. This time I actually went through a check out lane with a person (I prefer the self-check out lane). I still had yet to see what the checkout person would do knowing that I had my own bags. She simply handed me the items I had purchased and I packed them in my reusable bag. Easy peasy!!!!! This showed me that I can pack my own bags when going through the lane with a checkout person.

Seeing as this is the last week we officially report on our progress, I think the only thing I will be focusing on for the next week will be to educate my friends more on why I feel it is so important that to use reusable bags vs. plastic bags.

:: FINAL OVERVIEW
My SMART goal of using reusable bags at least three times a week when shopping at the grocery store or discount stores did not change from the original goal. I seriously thought I shopped more than I apparently do.  My busy schedule has kept me out of the stores for the most part (which is also good for my pocketbook). As a result, I've had to use my reusable bags every time I've gone shopping.

This project has been very beneficial to me. It really opened my eyes to the number of plastic bags one collects over the week. If I counted up all the times I shopped in the last five weeks and figured that there would have been at a minimum two plastic bags for each trip, that would be a total of 30-some plastic bags cluttering up my kitchen drawers. I've read articles where states are charging for people to use plastic bags. I think that's a great that people have to pay for those bags...I only hope it makes them realize that its a much bigger cost on the environment when they use them.

I certainly hope that by not using 30ish plastic bags in the last five weeks the environment changed..be it that the landfills did not gain these awful contaminates that take 10-20 years to decompose or an animal that did not get tangled in one of the plastic bags I choose to throw away in the past. By not using plastic bags, I'm casting my vote with my dollar, as Dr. V would say. I don't want plastic bags to clog up our environment any longer.

I will definitely continue to use reusable bags. Now that I am in a routine of using them, the task has become quite easy. I've even cleaned out the back of my truck and placed them all in one bigger bag, so they are not all over my truck. I now know that I can use them for my meat products, as they are after all...washable. I think the question really should be..."Why would you want to stop making the environment a better place?" Our lifestyle change should have made our environment better not only for ourselves, but also for those around us. This class is definitely opening my eyes to the things I am doing that are making out environment worse and to the things that I can change about my habits that will be our world a better, safer place to live.

One recommendation that I would have for other that want to make a lifestyle change is to have a positive attitude about anything you try int life. Sometimes we succeed, other times we fail. Learn from your mistakes so that in the future you will not make the same mistake over and over. By thinking in positives....the world is yours. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!

: Eye Opener :: Environmental Working Group :

Cosmetics....the first thing that came to mind when reading this was the vast array of make-up that I don't even own.  However, the EWG's Skin Deep Cosmetics website has such a wide variety of products that I was surprised at just how many of the products I actually do use. Everything from the shampoo I currently use to my toothpaste to the lip balm I prefer. While I think many of these items are okay for every day use, there was one item that I never seem to leave home without that probably is not the best for my body or the environment. That one item would be my little bottle of super glue.

Everyone always comments on how good my nails look...well, here's my confession....the reason I wear fake nails is because I am a horrible nail biter. I have been since I was a little kid. The fake nails hid the ugliness that are my nails. I have tried for years to quit being a nail biter, but nothing ever seems to work...but I digress...back to the product at hand. I choose to look at the nail glue I use for adhering fake nails to my fingers, Nailene Ultra Quick Nail Glue. On the hazard score key, this product is listed as a moderate hazard. It has a fair about of data available pertaining to the ingredient safety and the number of studies that are available in the open scientific literature.

The Nailene Ultra Quick Nail glue has three ingredients: Ethyl-2-cranoacrylate, Polymethyl methacrylate, and hydroquinone. The one ingredient that scared me the most is the hydroquinone. Out of a possible 10 on the hazard scale it scores a 10, meaning it has the highest level of risk associated with it. Phrases that were used in the descriptions of it included

• Known human immune, respiratory, nervous system, and organ system toxicant (non-reproductive)
• Strong evidence of human neurotoxicity
• Possible carcinogen
• Classified as a high human health priority
• Mutagenic 
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

AND THAT WAS ONLY ONE OF the three ingredients. I was too scared to see what the other two would say.  Looks like I have two choices after reviewing the information on this nail glue.....either work really hard at not biting my nails...or switching to a different brand of nail glue. The Kiss Maximum Speed Nail glue is rated as a LOW health concern (it also only has one ingredient...ethyl-2-cranoacrylate).

I'm definitely bookmarking this webpage for future research on products that are used in our household. I'll even encourage my friends to check out the cosmetic products that they purchase. I have some friends that would like to know if the products they use are tested on animals. With just a quick glance at some of my daily products, I was surprised to see many of them were tested on animals. ICK....time to do some shopping for new products.

:: Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change : Week 4 Update ::

Photo from Say No To Plastics

Another week with my SMART goal of using reusable bags at least three times a week when shopping at the grocery store or discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Target continues to go well. When I started with this goal, I certainly thought I shopped at least three times a week. Maybe it's because I've been so busy that I am only getting out once or twice, but I don't think I've made it to the stores more than twice a week.

A few different shopping situations did present themselves to me this week however. LATE Saturday night, I made a trip to Wal-Mart for the purpose of purchasing light bulbs for the nightlights in our house. Knowing that light bulbs was all I needed, I did not bring in one of my reusable bags. Once in the store, I discovered a few more items that I needed.  To the check-out counter I went with my seven items. I felt I already had enough reusable bags, so I opted to not purchase another one. Instead, I simply asked the girl at the check-out to not put my items in a plastic bag. I informed her that I was on a plastic bag strike. She looked at me and kind of chuckled, but allowed me to just carry my items out in my hands. In another shopping excursion, this time to Bed, Bath and Beyond...the lady at the checkout asked if I needed a bag for my newly purchased sheets. Again, I told her of my plastic bag strike and walked out with my sheets in my hand.

It's such a good feeling to know that I am making a small difference due to the fact that I'm not using plastic bags that could eventually become pollutants. Next weeks challenge will be to continue to keep up the work that I have already started. I've gotten in a routine of using them and throwing them back in the truck. I'm also learning that even when I have just a few items, I don't need a bag of any sort to carry my items in. I do have hands that are just as capable. They say it takes three weeks to start a new habit...I think I'm finally getting it!!! WOOT!!! WOOT!!!!! =)

:: Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update ::

Graphic from InfoBarrel

Oh week three...how thee has been so quiet on the reusable bag front, but so busy overall. =) I went shopping all of ONE time this past week and that was only for groceries (Children seem to get fussy when there is a lack of food in the house....geez whiz! LOL).

I must admit that I was bummed that I didn't get to go shopping more than once a week with my new reusable bags. It was such a busy week and I guess....I really didn't need anything. Yes, this is a good thing all at the same time. =) I was bummed because I felt like I was on such a roll with using the bags last week that I thought this week would be filled with more remembering to put the bags in the truck and bringing them into the store. Oh well...next week will be another week to go shopping as my oldest will be home starting Wednesday night until Sunday. She'll eat me out of house and home for sure.

I was kind of successful at the grocery store. I did remember to bring my bags in. I was only going in for a few things, but thought enough to bring in several bags with me....thankfully. I did run into a bit of a dilemma  dilemma. I purchased some pork ribs and some turkey breasts that will be put into the crock pot later this week. Given the nature of these products, I did not want to just stick them in my reusable bags. I prefer to put them into a plastic bag so they don't leak all over. I stood there packing my bags wondering what the heck I was going to do with those meat products. To put them in the reusable bag or in a plastic bag..........grrrrr! In the end, I put them in a a plastic bag. As I sit here now and think about the whole situation, I realize now that not only are the resuable bags reusable, but they are also WASHABLE!!! It wouldn't have mattered if they had gotten dirty....I can always wash them. The answer was already in front of me...I just needed to step back and see it. Lesson learned.

I'm sure my daughter will want to head to Wal-Mart this weekend without me. I'm going to make sure she takes the reusable bags with her, so she too can save a sea turtle by not using plastic bags. =)

:: Eye Opener - CSPI ::

Have you really stopped to think about ALL of the processes that go into the foods you truly enjoy? Have you ever really thought about how much water it takes to irrigate, not only for the fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eating, but also for the crops that are fed to the livestock we eat. Because my blog focuses on water so much, I want to point out just how much water it takes. While touring the food supply chain on the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) website on eating green, I learned that irrigating feed-grain crops and raising livestock requires about 15 TRILLION gallons of water per year. That is over half of all irrigation water used in the US. To produce just ONE pound of beef, it takes about 18,000 gallons of rain and irrigation water. That is MORE than it takes to grow a pound of fruits and vegetables. This is absolutely unbelievable. I would have never guessed that it would take that much water to grow crops just to feed cattle.

Irrigation, while good for crops, does have negatives associated with it that I had not thought of before. When lands are over-irrigated, erosion occurs. This washes away the soil, pesticides and fertilizer into nearby streams and rivers, which in the long run pollute the water, harms the animals and upset our delicate ecosystem. I did not realize that in addition to all of that....over-irrigation also affects the soil quality, including lowering its nutrient content. This certainly is a wake up call for me.

I do realize that we have many areas across the country that have times of drought and have a strong need for irrigation, but I certainly did not realize the impact that it had on everything else in the food chain. It isn't just the farmer that it effects. If his crop doesn't grow, then we don't benefit from his food, be it the fruits and vegetables he is growing or the crops for his cattle. For the consumer, we are end up with food that could have a lower nutrient content because of the excess fertilizers, lower soil quality, and all the pesticides that are in the ground. This information has made me want to look into alternative irrigation methods.

:: Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change - Week 2 Update ::

Photo from Mylot Photos

It has been a great week of attacking my SMART goal of using only reusable bags at places such as the grocery store, Wal-Mart or Target. This past week, I made trips to Wal-Mart on four different occasions. Each time I went, I purchased at a minimum two reusable bags so that I would have a plethora of them, which will come in especially handy when it comes to trips to the grocery store. I am up to 6-8 black reusable bags similar to the one shown in the photo to the right.

I did not use ONE plastic bag this past week. It is so refreshing to not have plastic bags cluttering the drawers in the kitchen.

Not that I am far into this goal, but two challenges I have run into is remembering to grab the bags out of the truck before heading into the store and then remembering to put them back into the truck after I have put the groceries away. My solutions for these two problems was

• Go back to the truck to get them before going into the store (if I remember before entering the store).
• Purchasing more bags when I've forgotten to bring some in (I can see needing a bunch of bags anyway).

As far as making sure they get put back into the truck, I'm learning to put them in a visible spot in the kitchen so that as I'm running out the door for another adventure, I can grab them.

Each time I have gone into Wal-Mart, I have used the self-check. This makes it less of a hassle for me. Instead of dealing with the check-out person, I can pack my own bag(s). I'm not even sure what the protocol is for Wal-Mart employess. Are they allowed to pack items into someone's reusable bags or are they required to place items in plastic bags. This is something I will have to look into during the next week or so.

They say it takes at least three weeks to get into a habit. Hopefully as this goes on, it becomes second nature to just grab the bags out of the truck before heading into the store.

Eye Opener : Ecological Footprints in the Sand

Photo by Robyn Granholm

For our first Eye Opener assignment, we were asked to check out multiple sites that contained quizzes that calculated our ecological footprint. I opted to take the quiz offered on the IUHPE website. My results showed that if everyone was to live like I do, we would need 6.6 Planet Earths to provide enough resources. My lifestyle takes 29.2 global acres of the Earth's productive area. Overwhelmingly, land for my energy usage took up much of my productive area.

My personal ecological footprint was broken down into:

• 30% Services
• 28% Mobility
• 20% Food
• 13% Shelter
• 9% Goods

I am not overly surprised about my mobility number. I spend many hours in my Suburban, driving to and from UMD/Duluth area and driving my daughter around for swimming things and school events. I do ride-share with three other families for swimming practice. We have a schedule of who is picking the girls up from school and taking them to the pool and who is picking them up after practice. I have my reasons for having a large vehicle (and actually wanting a bigger one). These have to do with having the ability to haul multiple children/adults in a safe manner, ability to get to point A to point B in large amounts of snow, and being able to haul my boat.

While it is not the most economical vehicle around, I do my best to make sure my miles per gallon are as high as possible. Cruise control is my friend. If I'm going for long trips, I normally set the cruise control to keep my speed consistent (and to not speed). =) This helps in keeping my gas mileage fairly consistent. Mind you....driving back and forth to UMD sometimes twice a day does not help the pocketbook or my ecological footprint. The twice a day comes into play when I need to attend classes in the morning and then bring my daughter in the evening to swim for the North Shore Swim Club.

The quiz suggested that one way I could decrease my ecological footprint would be to use public transportation one or more days each week instead of driving my truck. While I think this is a great idea, it is not possible given where I live. Public transportation, such as the bus, does not come out as far as Esko, nor do we have any buses to go between the little towns in the surrounding area.

Suggestions from the quiz that I think are possible to implement into my daily life include reducing the amount of animal-products that are currently consumed in my household and purchasing products that use less packaging.  I'm not sure Aly and I could cut our animal-product consumption in half, but it is worth a try. We would certainly benefit from eating less processed foods and eating more organic foods. If every American did that, we would use 645 MILLION fewer global acres or the equivalent of 484 million football field. That's a TON of football fields. Seems like something we should ALL work toward.