Share and Voice: My Dad's Photos

Hey!!! I went home this weekend and my dad was looking through his pictures and editing them like he always does, when I got the idea to share some of them with you. My dad has really gotten into photography in last few years. He is really great! He loves to go to different state parks on the weekends, and he loves taking tons of pictures on his vacations. Within this last year he has gone to the Boundary Waters, Canada, India and London, and taken some fascinating pictures. I would really like to share them with you. I hope you enjoy them.

Niagra Falls

Richfield Nature Center

Minnesota River Valley State Park

Woodlake Nature Center

Minnesota River Valley State Park

Wild Daisies from Woodlake Nature Center

Sunset at Woodlake Nature Park

Early in the morning at a local State Park

A Lotus from India

A Waterfall in India

A garden outside of the Buckingham Palace

Boundary Waters: This picture was actually published in the Star Tribune for the Travel Section.

All of these pictures were taken by Dennis Hensche. I hope you enjoyed them!

Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: Paper Towels vs Hand Dryers

So today after I had washed my hands in the bathroom, I went to go grab some paper towels, and there weren't any. This frustrated me becuase I was in a hurry and prefer paper towels. I have always heard that it is more environmentally friendly to use the hand dryers, but I have always disliked them because it takes FOREVER for them to dry your hands. So back to today....in my frustration I got to thinking...Is it even better for the environment for people to use hand dryers instead of paper towels? What are the benefits for each? Why are both paper towels and hair dryers provided in bathrooms when one is better for the environment then the other....that is if one is truely better than the other. All of these thoughts inspired me to do some research of my own in order to get some real answers to my questions.



So here is what I found...Facts are found from the article "Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels" written by By Brendan I. Koerner. This article came from the website Slate.

• Both have a cost on the environment, so the best option is to wipe hands on your pants.
• The main benefits of using paper towels are that they don't use electricity, and the automatic ones are battery operated. Also, the trees that are used to make paper towels are typically replaced after the harvest; so deforestation is not an issue.
• The main disadvantage of using paper towels is all of the pollution that is created. Fossil fules are used for the woods' transportation to companies who make paper towels. The pulping process in making paper towels also creates a lot of pollution. Finally, the transportation of paper towels to clients who use them, creates even more pollution.
• Hand dryers do need to be delivered, but this occurs much less often then paper towel deliveries.
• Another disadvantages of using paper towels is that more maintanance jobs are needed for bathroom clean up, that aren't needed for hand dryer use. Just think about how often the garbage can needs to be emptied, and paper towel machines need to be refilled.
• Hand Dryers are the greener option!!!! They eliminate waste disposal and they are more hygienic than paper towels. They use less energy and last 7-10 years. The worst part about hand dryers is that it takes a little bit more energy up front to make them.
• The carbon emissions from a typical use of a hand dryer are .02-.08. This is much less than the carbon emissions from a typical paper towel use (typically 2 paper towels) which is 0.123.

I just want you guys to think about this. Is the added convenience of paper towels really worth the piles and piles of paper towels that are filling our landfills? Please take the extra minute, and try to dry your hands more often with a hand dryer.

Thanks for reading!!

Here is the main webstie where I found most of my information. Please feel free to click on it if you want to learn more!

http://www.slate.com/id/2193740/

Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: CSPI

I really enjoyed doing this Eye Opener! I have always wondered how my eating is impacting the environment. I feel like I eat fairly healthy. I have grown up being conscious of my food choices and have always aimed to eat a well balenced diet.

So here are my results:

• Health Score: 122
• Environmental Score: -40
• Animal Welfare Score: -39
• Grand Total: 55 = Good

Wow...Well that appears to be pretty bad to me! The only part that I am happy about is the Health Score, and I was expecting it to be good. The other two categories I need to improve and fast! Yikes!!!

The area that I scored the highest was vegetables. This score was WAY above the rest of my other scores. The other higher categories were whole grains and fat-free dairy products. I feel that this is correct becuase I am a very healthy eater. I always eat my fruits and veggies, wheat products, and as low fat of foods as I can. The reason why the vegetable score was so much higher than the rest was becuase I was above the average servings of vegetables per week, and I just really like vegetables.

The areas that I scored the lowest on where chicken and dairy. I find this to be a little shocking. I didn't think that drinking milk and eating chicken were that bad for the environment, but it does make sense that these areas are the worst for me becuase I eat these items daily.

My scores for the Environment and Animal Welfare are equally bad. I believe that my score for the environment is so bad becuase I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables; most of which need to be shipped here, and I think that the reason my score for Animal Welfare is so bad is becuase I eat meat on a daily basis. I know that I should really try to change both, but for right now I know that I can change my impact on my Animal Welfare score by trying to eat a vegetarian meal once or twice a week. This is a change I am confident that I can do.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Great Day!!!