#Projectgreenchallenge

[k0kayy]

As part of the Greener challenge for #pgc2018 I drew this traceout of my hand incorporating some elements of #nature 🌲🌼⛅🌎 hoping to portray the literal hand we have in #protectingourplanet Join #projectgreenchallenge to find out how you can #createchange ❤️ #respectyourmother 🌎♻️ (at Glenfield, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZ03kana5i/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=981ejnkwarkb

[efsthathiasgreenchallenge20-blog]

Debunking the myth!

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 3- Green Project

Day 3's theme was labels. Unfortunately, because of my homework load this day I only got to complete the first project. However, it made me think about what our food is labeled as. Companies can make claims that something is "organic" or "natural" without having it backed up. Arsenic is natural, but it kills you. Anyway, these are the labels that I thought of that aren't always backed up by facts, and what I believe their definitions to be:

Natural: No artificial ingredients or chemicals.

Organic: Made of natural plants and animals with no chemicals used.

Skinny: Meant to have few calories, and promotes the idea that eating it will make a person thinner.

Low-Fat: Much less fat than other brands, or other versions of this brand. Reduces bad fats such as saturated and trans, but usually has a huge increase in sugar.

Sugar-free: No sugar in the entire product, but is usually replaced with artificial sweeteners which can be extremely unhealthy.

So as you can see, you can't always assume a label such as natural or sugar-free is healthier or contains less chemicals. More research is needed into how the product is made, and whether or not its claims have been proved.

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 2- Green Project

Today's project was focused on space, namely a person's bedroom. The first task was to:

- Make a list of five terms that you know or have heard that relate to sustainable products.  - Research and write a great definition for each that would resonate with your peer group.  - For your sixth term, make up a word and definition for a term you can’t find! (Be creative — combine words using hypens, etc!)

Here's what I came up with:

Five Terms:

Reusable: Able to be turned into something new once you’re done with its old use. Can save you money if you reuse old or broken parts.

Organic: Made out of existing plants or animals, without chemicals involved. AKA without introducing toxins that can be absorbed into your body!

Eco-friendly: Causing little or no harm to the environment, and usually therefore causing less harm to people.

Bio-degradable: Once it is placed in a landfill, it will decompose without releasing toxins into the air, or will take much less time to decompose than most materials.

Recycled: Made out of a previously manufactured material. Can create whole new products by starting with a product that there is no use for anymore!

My Word:

ECOrganomic: An organic material that is eco-friendly and economic. This is a product made of natural materials, decomposes easily and causes no harm to the environment, and is affordable. It really is the whole deal!

These definitions made me consider what criteria make a sustainable product and I hope they give a little insight into sustainability!

[daniellepgc-blog]

Ripple Effects

Here are just a few of the things I've become more conscious of or changed throughout my experience during Project Green Challenge. 

I’ve stopped buying conventional clothing – only thrifted clothing, or clothing made through sustainable, ethical practices

I’ve switched out all of my body and face care products for organic alternatives

I’ve stopped drinking conventional teas and only drink fair trade organic teas

I’ve stopped using the drying machines and instead hang dry my clothes

I’ve started eating meat fewer times a week

I’ve started using only reusable cups and mugs

I’ve stopped buying packaged foods

I’ve started trying to “clean my plate” at meals instead of wasting food

I’ve become a more avid recycler

I’ve started trying to use less water for showering and washing my face

I’ve started trying to think more about the sources of everything that I own and/or purchase and how the positive, neutral, or negative impact those have on our environment and global community

I’ve become more conscious of the environmentally exploitative, inhumane practices of conventional meat factory farming

I’ve become more aware of pesticides on produce

I’ve become aware of the environmentally detrimental means by which conventional clothing is produced

I’ve become aware of the dangers, towards the environment and consumers, of conventional face and body products

I’ve become more aware of the severity of water pollution

I’ve become aware of the concept of REFUSE, reduce, reuse, recycle and now understand that no waste is better than recycling when possible

I’ve become conscious about the Fair Trade food movement, which I am now very passionate about

I’ve become passionate about consciousness-raising around environmental issues and the intersectionality of environmental and social issues around the world

I’ve become conscious of Organic certified food and clothing brands, what that certification means and why I should support it

I’ve become conscious of FLOSN when analyzing the environmental and health impacts of my food purchases

I’ve become aware of how awesome hemp is and even sent letters to my representatives asking them to support hemp legislation

I’ve become more aware of what genetically modified organisms are and why we should fight for our right to know whether or not they’re in our foods

I’ve become aware of my carbon footprint, greenhouse gases, and various ways to reduce that footprint

This month has changed my life, I am so grateful.

[daniellepgc-blog]

PGC Day 23: Dining

[daniellepgc-blog]

Minimal Waste Livin'

For the next 2 weeks (until October 22nd) I'm going to make 3 zero waste lifestyle changes! Woohoo! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up these changes long after mid-October, but I'm excited to try them out over the next few weeks. Reducing the amount of waste I produce is SO important. I'm trying to take responsibility for my contributions to waste on this planet and lead a sustainable life - better for me and mother nature!

Here are the 3 changes I am committing to over the next 2 weeks - 

1. No plastic or paper cups - my thermos, Nalgene, and mason jars are my new best friends. The Nalgene has been a big part of my life for a while now and I can't remember the last time that I drank out of a plastic water bottle. However, I can't seem to remember to bring my Kleen Kanteen thermos or a mason jar with me when I go get coffee. Especially now that I'm back in school and in frequent need of caffeination, it's time for me to step up and bring reusable drinking containers with me for eco-friendly caffeine on the go.

2. Clean plate club! - over the next two weeks I am vowing to only put as much food as I can eat on my plate. In order to do this I am going to get smaller portions for myself and then if I am still hungry, go back for seconds. The Skidmore dining hall throws out uneaten food from students plates instead of composting. In order to not contribute to that waste each day, I am going to eat what's on my plate so I don't have to throw out food. This is better for the environment and healthier for me - it forces me to eat only when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full instead of trying to eat a huge plate of food and then throwing out the leftovers once I'm stuffed.

3. No packaged food - I am going to stop eating packaged food. This one kind of scares me. It's going to involve some grocery shopping and planning ahead, as I live in a dorm and don't have kitchen access just a meal plan, but I think I can do it if I'm thoughtful and deliberate about my snacking. This will encourage me to snack more healthfully and with a lot less waste!!

Here I go! I'm nervous/excited/anxious about making these changes! Either way, it's one step closer to a truly sustainable life, and that I am stoked for.

[efsthathiasgreenchallenge20-blog]

Reducing My Carbon Footprint

Todays Challenge is create my own personal gameplan to find a way to reduce my carbon footprint. I’d like to reduce my Carbon footprint by at least ¼. Instead of taking four planet Earths to satisfy people, we could use at least less than three.

  10 lifestyle changes that could help reduce my Carbon footprint

  Have a Meatless Monday, or even a Meatless Wednesday

Purchase products that are made of 100% post consumer recycled content

Walk once a week to school

Buy Compact fluorescent light bulbs

Turn off Laptop when not in use

Turn off lights every time I leave the room

Eating more local food

Recycling everything, including food scraps

Unplugging chargers and gadgets when not in use

10. Filter my own water instead of using bottled water

    I then made my mom take the carbon footprint quiz. we had similar results. That’s expected, we do live in the same house!

  Now I’ll make a game plan for my mom! We both will be able to support each other to continue these lifestyle changes.

  10 lifestyle changes that could help reduce my mom’s Carbon footprint

  Have a meatless Monday, or even a couple of days

Get rid of paper junk mail

Eat more local food

Switching to green energy/ solar energy

Get a worm bin for compost

Use rechargeable batteries

Use a hybrid car or a fuel efficient one

Eat seasonally

Keep the car tuned up

10. Filter water instead of using bottled water

  One item on my footprint reduction game plan that seems easy enough for everyone to do is unplugging chargers and gadgets when not in use. Every little bit that we do to help lower the carbon footprint counts. I nominated three of my friends to try it for a week, and of course they accepted.

[daniellepgc-blog]

PGC Day 2: An Adventure to CVS Health (aka CVS Health Hazards Galore)

Today I learned allll about chemicals in body products and was pretty shocked and scared by my findings! This video is crazy informative about everything cosmetic & chemical related - http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-cosmetics/ I highly recommend watching it! Basically, if you're products aren't certified as organic, its likely that they contain high numbers of toxins, carcinogens, allergens, and other harmful ingredients.  Want to know a main ingredient that I found out is in Herbal Essences shampoos? PETROL. As in when you lather up your shampoo, your actually putting fuel on your head, and your skin is your most absorbent organ, so you best believe that stuff is making its way inside your body! Yikes!

If you're interested in some of my experience, here's the story of my Greenest challenge for the day...

For this challenge, my friends Morgan, Sarah, and I went on over to CVS in Saratoga Springs, NY to check out the health risks or benefits of our favorite conventional beauty products.

My friend Sarah chose her favorite face sunscreen that she wore a lot this summer while working as a camp counselor, Neutrogena Clear Face Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen.

We looked the sunscreen up on the EWG Skin Deep app and discovered that it has a hazard rating of 4- it is a moderately hazardous beauty product. Sarah didn’t seem too surprised. She said that she knew the sunscreen “wasn’t all-natural”. However, one of the ingredients, oxybenzone was rated as an 8- a very high hazard risk. We then researched oxybenzone on the EWG site and found some pretty scary results… Oxybenzone is a sunscreen ingredient that is linked to “biochemical or cellular level changes, endocrine disruption, bioaccumulation, ecotoxicology, and organ system toxicity”. It also banned in some Japanese cosmetics. Sarah was, rightfully, pretty upset by this. She said that she felt “tricked”. She knew that the product wasn’t all natural, it never claimed to be organic or plant-based, but she had no idea that all summer long she’d been putting something on her face that could potentially harm her and even disrupt the functioning of her endocrine system.

Morgan was not so psyched about going next. She had picked out her favorite mascara, Maybelline Mega Plush Volume Express Mascara, and was worried that the results about its ingredients would be similarly unnerving. 

We researched the Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara on the EWG Skin Deep App. The mascara had a hazard rating of 3, moderately hazardous, and had no high hazard ingredients. Morgan was visibly relieved and even smiled at the news. “Yay! No scary ingredient’s like the oxy-thing in Sarah’s sunblock”, she teased. However, I looked at the moderately hazardous ingredients on the ingredient list and realized that I recognized 2 of the mascara’s ingredients from my research for today’s Green challenge, phenoxyethanol and sodium laurel sulfate. So I looked them up again and shared with Morgan my findings from earlier. Phenoxyethanol is a chemical preservative that is used in many skin products. It is a colorless oily liquid that is produced in labs. Continued exposure to phenoxyethanol has been linked to organ toxicity, contact dermatitis, and worsening of eczema (Paiskincare.com). Sodium laurel sulfate is an “elmulsifier and foaming agent commonly used in cosmetic products”. SLS has been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin irritation, and endocrine disruption (Livestrong.com).

When I shared this information with Morgan, she looked disgusted, to be honest. Her face was scrunched as if she had just smelt something terrible. “Are you serious?” she said, “That’s considered moderately hazardous? It’s linked to cancer?” I showed her the article from LiveStrong.com and she just shook her head, clearly upset that her favorite mascara happened to do more than give her “mega plush” voluminous lashes, it was also exposing her body to a known carcinogen, sodium laurel sulfate.

The three of us were all understandably freaked out by our findings; clearly many of our go-to body products were also go-to’s for toxins to gain easy access to our bodies! What to do?

  Well… Morgan, Sarah, and I are going to try to go green! At some point in the next few days the three of us decided that we’re going to Healthy Living Market in Saratoga Springs to purchase some toxin-free, lovely organic body products! Also, we’re going to pick up some ingredients while we’re there and make ourselves some organic DIY facemasks. Here’s the recipe I found online at beautyhigh.com –

  Banana Face Mask 


Bananas are known for their high levels of potassium, so it makes sense that applying the super fruit to your skin would do nothing but greatness. Vitamins A, B, C and E along with numerous minerals are also found in bananas. Use this mask to moisturize, get rid of dead skin cells and best of all, fight wrinkles.

  Ingredients: 


1/2 banana
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon water (plain water)

  Directions: 
1. Mash banana until there are no clumps.
2. Add in honey and water and blend together.
3. Coat face in mask and let sit for 20-25 minutes.
4. Rinse with warm water and follow with a moisturizer.

  Psyched to try this out! I will post pictures of the DIY organic face wash adventure to my Tumblr blog/Instagram when I make it!

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Exciting!

I was one of the winners for more challenges! I was a winner for the Packaged Food Greener challenge, which can be viewed at http://goinggreenproject.tumblr.com/post/33469519087/day-12-greener-project and then today I received an email that I was a winner for both the Greener and Greenest challenges for Organic Cotton! Woo! Those posts can be viewed at http://goinggreenproject.tumblr.com/post/34035145637/day-19-greener-project-pick-10-15-cotton-products and http://goinggreenproject.tumblr.com/post/34035670761/day-19-greenest-project-1-find-an-item-in-your .

Also, I recently made the switch from Jif peanut butter to all-natural made only with peanuts after learning what was in my food, and I find myself constantly checking ingredient lists to see what weird chemicals are in my food before I decide whether to eat it. This project has really been changing the way I look at things I took for granted before.

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 20- Greener Project

-  Share five things in the course of your day that cause stress in your life.

School

Sports (Cross country and track)

College applications

Time management

Parental expectations

-  Share five ways that you reduce stress that really make a difference.

Go for a run!

Yoga

Meditation

Make a list so I know I’ll get everything done

Read a book and listen to music

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 20- Green Project

Today's theme was wellness.

The first project today was simple--share your favorite inspirational quote! I chose one of my favorites from running:

“Good, Better, Best. Never let it rest until your good is better, and your better is best!”

-Tim Duncan

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 19- Greenest Project

1. Find an item in your closet that is made of conventional cotton to bring this challenge to life. Take a photo. Caption the photo with information about two pesticides that might have been used on the cotton that made this item, and share two environmental and health impacts for each pesticide. 

(photo above). I have a TON of these 100% cotton t-shirts from four years of running track and cross country. You can buy or win them at almost every meet, and we have at least one meet each week. Some common pesticides used on cotton are Acephate and Aldicarb.

Inhalation of Acephate can cause convulsions, dizziness, sweating, laboured breathing, nausea, pupillary constriction, muscle cramp, and excessive salivation. Ingestion can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting. It is a known/probable carcinogen, known groundwater pollutant and known reproductive or developmental toxicant. When released into the environment, it can affect growth and behavior or even cause mortality for animals.

Aldicarb has the same effects as Acephate for inhalation and ingestion. Aldicarb is a highly acutely toxic, cholinesterase inhibitor, known/probable carcinogen, known groundwater pollutant and known reproductive or developmental toxicant. It is especially known to cause endocrine disruption. When released into the environment, it affects the growth, development, behavior, and biochemistry of animals, and can cause mortality.

2. Now, find an alternative to this item that is made of organic cotton! Snap or find a photo of that item. Caption with the brand, and where you found it. Research sustainable farming methods for cotton that could have been used to produce this product without pesticides, and cite resources that you used to find your information.

Alternative: ORGANIC cotton t-shirts!

At altahemp.com you can purchase all kinds of cool organic clothing, including t-shirts! Organic cotton does not involve the use of pesticides or herbicides or any other chemical including GMOs.

The soil is kept rich by crop rotation and allowance of some natural biodiversity, excluding dangerous weeds. This helps cut down on wasting water, because fertilized fields that don’t sustain the soil’s natural fertility generally need a lot of irrigation. Instead of herbicides, weeds are picked by hand. Insects are sometimes drawn away by putting a more appetizing plant nearby, or other insects that aren’t harmful to the plant are introduced to take care of the destructive insects. Some farms are blocked off underground to prevent chemical run-off from affecting the organically grown cotton.

There are some natural pesticides, such as a mixture of garlic and soap, and intercropping is also sometimes used. This is where secondary crops are grown between and around small plots of cotton. These form a barrier against the boll weevils, which can’t smell their favorite snack—cotton-- through the extra plants. (These secondary crops may also provide another cash crop or food for the farmers, a useful backup in case of a poor cotton harvest.)

Resources:

http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_ChemicalsAlpha.jsp

http://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/pdfs/Cotton_chems.pdf

http://forcechange.com/8504/encourage-more-sustainable-cotton-farming-and-textile-practices/

http://www.peopletree.co.uk/content/32/organic-cotton-fibre

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 19- Green Project

Theme: Organic Cotton

Do some research on the web and write an informative definition for organic cotton and cite two resources.

My Definition: Organic cotton’s differences from normal cotton start with the seed. The seeds are not treated with fungicides or insecticides, and are required to be GMO free by federal regulation in the US. The soil for the seeds is not treated with fertilizers, but is kept strong and healthy through crop rotation. Herbicides are not used while the plant is growing, so weeds are taken out by hand. Pesticides are not used, but instead use other plants to lure pests away, or use beneficial insects to get rid of the bad ones that eat the plant. Also, no chemicals are used in harvesting. Organic farming replenishes the soil fertility, so that cotton can be grown for a long time without depleting the soil of nutrients. All cotton sold as organic in the United States must meet strict federal regulations covering how the cotton is grown.

Resources:

Organic Trade Association: http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/organic_cotton.html

AboutOrganicCotton.com http://www.aboutorganiccotton.org/OCdiff.html

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 18- Green Project

Theme: TECH

Take to the web and find 5 businesses that are making more eco conscious electronics for consumers. Share one fact about how they are rethinking the design of their products to reduce toxic components, and share one way they are ensuring that their products are being disposed of in an ethical, environmentally friendly way.

1.Hewlett Packard (HP) Media Center offers a compact computer hooked up with television, TiVo, stereo, and a DVD player. Putting these products all into one lessens the amount of electronic products bought. HP also offers trade-in values on older models so you can upgrade with them for less. HP actually has several of their own recycling facilities to ensure correct and efficient disposal.

2.Nokia leads the way on eliminating toxic chemicals, since the end of 2005 all new models of mobiles are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and all new components to be free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from the start of 2007.

3.IBM has been measuring, managing, and voluntarily reporting on its environmental impact for more than 20 years. It says it has conserved 5.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity over that time, cutting its CO₂ emissions and saving the company more than $400 million in the process. Energy efficiency and conservation is a “business no-brainer,” says Wayne Balta, a vice president who oversees sustainability at IBM. But the company has extended its eco-savvy far beyond its own operations—for instance, providing software that helps customers identify energy-saving efficiencies at an office campus.

4.Lenovo, which bought IBM's consumer electronics division in 2005 offers take-back services in all the nations where its products are sold. This means it will recycle any broken or obsolete own-brand product returned to it.

5.Round2 is making great strides toward a meaningful goal: zero electronics in landfills. More than any other e-cycling company, Round2 recycles valuable elements and raw materials from all kinds of electronic and corporate equipment—and makes discarding devices the green way financially attractive to big businesses, too. Given the high turnover rate of our digital gear, it’s a significant achievement to have electronics recycled rather than simply discarded. And, by doing all of its operations in the U.S. (rather than shipping the work overseas), Round2 has a smaller carbon footprint than other e-cycling companies.

[goinggreenproject-blog]

Day 16- Greener Project

Take the list that you just made for the Green Challenge and pick your top ten. Create a before and after graphic: Before is the conventional product that you listed. After is the conscious alternative that you find. Caption the conscious product telling us why the switch will lessen your impact on the earth. 

1.Before: Tissues

After: Handkerchiefs

Handkerchiefs are a more environmentally-friendly product because they are not thrown away after every use. This would greatly cut back on my paper waste because handkerchiefs can be washed and used again.

2.Before: Napkins

After: Cloth napkins

Cloth napkins are a great alternative to paper ones because they can be washed and reused. This cuts back on unnecessary paper waste.

3.Before: Calendars

After: Electronic calendars

Unlike paper calendars, electronic ones can be reused year after year without having to throw anything away!

4.Before: Toilet Paper

After: Bidet Toilet

Toilet paper was a tough issue to approach because although it’s only been around for a little, it’s very ingrained into our daily routine and society. Obviously cloth pieces could be used and washed, but really who wants to wash that? I eventually came across something called a “Bidet Toilet.” These have become very popular in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and cut back greatly on toilet paper waste. Essentially, the toilet sprays water to wash, and is much gentler than rough paper. Coincidentally, bidet toilets help conserve water, since bidets use less water than is used in paper production. Bidet toilets, then, provide a sustainable and hygienic alternative to toilet paper. I have to admit that the idea freaks me out a little after using toilet paper my whole life, but it would definitely be worth a try!

5.Before: Newspapers

After: Online news sites

Reading newspapers online would help to lessen the amount of paper waste that is thrown away each day.

6.Before: Lined Paper

After: Recycled paper

I use lined paper daily in school to take notes, and it can create a lot of paper waste. The alternative that I found to ordinary lined paper is a company called “Roaring Springs Paper Products.” They make all kinds of paper products from recycled paper, sugarcane fiber paper, and poo paper! They have reduced their landfill waste by 99% and by producing sugarcane paper they help preserve over 60,000 acres of forestland every year, and they are an American owned company. Although any form of recycled paper is better than ordinary lined paper, this company is stellar.

7.Before: Wrapping Paper

After: Newspaper, maps, pottery, bag, gifts….

This is more focused on reusing products, but instead of using new wrapping paper find other ways to use what you have! Try wrapping with newspaper or old maps, present a present inside a piece of pottery or a reusable bag, or even wrap a gift in another gift! All of these will cut back on the amount of paper wasted in buying brand new wrapping paper. (You can even save wrapping paper someone else gives you on a gift and reuse it!)

8.Before: Mail

After: Unsubscribe!

Although I don’t sign up to get junk mail, it is sent from many different companies to my family. Like most people, we’ll simply throw it away. However, the best thing to do to prevent wasteful junk mail is to remove yourself from their list the first time you receive anything. That way, they won’t continue to send papers that only end up in the trash.

9.Before: Sticky Note Pads

After: Reusable sticky notes

Did you know reusable sticky notes existed? Me neither! Sticky notes can be extremely useful, but also extremely wasteful. These reusable ones save a lot of that waste. Scribble and stick them to any surface you like (i.e. fringe, monitor, wall, book etc.) When done, just simply flip up the transparent sheet to erase. This portable product can also be puzzled (or stick) together to form bigger writing pad. Great for fridge reminders and expiration info, bookmarks, brain storming sessions, shopping list and daily task reminders, while being good for the environment!

10.Before: Books

After: E-Readers

Although books are not wasteful in that they are thrown away, a lot of resources are put into creating and developing them. I have always loved books, and practically have a mini library in my room. Switching to eBooks would save a lot of paper and the resources used to develop and print on that paper.