Eye Opener: Photo Essay

These are pictures of recycled or re-used items that are in our house. Some of the items are old, some are more recent. Before taking this class I have never really thought about where these items have come from. I never even knew we had some of the things I found and was surprised how many recycled or re-used items we had in our home. My mom was setting up Christmas decorations at our house this weekend so some of the items are Christmas related.

My grandpa made these two items about 10 years ago. On the right is a candle made out of part of a birch tree. Then he stapled ribbon and pine cones and pine needles on for decoration. The bigger log on the right holds two candles sticks and is decorated the same way as the small candle. This is just a simple way to make a nice looking candle or holiday decoration.

This was an old sled that was sitting in storage at our house and my mom decided to make it into a Christmas decoration for the outside of our house. She put a ribbon, wreath, and bells on it and it sits by our front door.

This is a lamp that is in our bathroom. It is made out of a glass jar and has been painted and decorated with twine. I think this is a cool use of an empty glass jar.

This is a bowl made out of recycled glass. One of my mom's students made it and gave it to her as a gift.

This cabinet was taken out of my great grandparents house and was in rough shape. We refinished it and it looks as good as new. It is currently sitting in our dining area with some other decorative type things inside.

This is a picture of some christmas decorations my mom has made in the past. On the left is a reindeer ornament made from an old christmas light and pipe cleaners. On the right, since my mom is a teacher, she made these apples out of a crushed pop can and wrote holiday messages on some.

The box that is temporarily holding up our new t.v. until we get a shelf built in our entertainment center was an old wooden fruit box that we sanded and painted and is usually used a decoration in our home.

This is the exercise room at our house. The floor is rubber matting that was torn out of the hockey arena in my hometown that was going to be thrown away. We asked if we could have some and cleaned it up and put it in our exercise room and it has worked out great!

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part I:

Antiques/ Antiquing- An old collectable items. Desirable because of age, beauty, and rarity. (Wikipedia)

Junk/ Junking- To discard as useless of reuse parts. (Free Dictionary)

Flea Market- market, usually held outdoors, where antiques and used household goods are sold. (Free Dictionary)

Thrift Shop- A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization. (Free Dictionary)

Up cycling- the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. (Wikipedia)

Resale Shop- The act of selling again. (Free Dictionary)

Part II:

The terms above are all related to environmental health because they all involve re-using and recycling products. Re-using products reduces the environmental impact that comes with the creation or manufacturing of new products. All the terms above are great ways to re use old products that can still be used by people in some way.

Antiques- Father Time Antiques www.fathertimeantiques.com 395 S Lake Ave Duluth, MN 55802 (218) 625-2379

Junking- Savers www.savers.com 1740 Mall Drive Duluth, MN 55811 218-722-1894

Flea Market- Studebaker drivers club swap meet and flea market 2101 Trinity Road, Duluth MN 55811.

Thrift store- Ragstock http://www.ragstock.com/ 7 West Superior Street. 218-722-1201

Upcycling- Proctor True Value Building Supply 132 3rd AveDuluth, MN 55810 218-624-3651

Resale shop- Plato's Closet. http://www.platoscloset.com/locations/list/MN 5115 Burning Tree Road Suite 315C Duluth, MN 55811

I have minimal experience with the above terms, however it is something I would love to explore and learn more about. I have brought some of my clothes that did not fit me or have been worn quite a bit and gave them to Plato's Closet to be re sold. I have also shopped at thrift stores if I am looking for a costume or something else I could re-use. I would like to learn more about antiques, there are some interesting stories behind some items and you can learn some interesting things.

Part III:

1. This is a decorative clock that sits on an old wooden ladder in the entry way. It can be decorated for all different seasons. I just thought it was cool because many people would not consider having a ladder in their home for decoration. Plus its simple to make. (Click here)

2. This is a window box for inside the home that is made out of old scrap wood and can hold plants inside your home. I liked this because its a convenient way to have plants in your home without having them sit on the floor or table. I also liked the deer antlers that are in the display too! (Click Here)

3. This a old rusty lamp that was refinished and rewired to be re-used once again. All it takes is just cleaning it up a little and get it working again and you have a lamp that is as good as new. I liked this because my grandparents make lamps out of wood and other different re-usable materials. (Click Here)

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

The product I chose to evaluate was Crest Whitening plus Scope Citrus Splash Toothpaste. I usually use Crest toothpaste but I switch up the flavors or try different kinds every time I buy new toothpaste. I am evaluating the toothpaste that I currently am using now. There are a few minor concerns with this toothpaste.

There are a few ingredients that are toxic to my organ system and also may cause cancer. I feel like the risk these ingredients present are not as serious as this evaluation website makes them sound. The amount of toothpaste a person uses is a very small amount and the majority of it is not swallowed. They also have directions on the bottle that suggest users of the product should be two years old or older and children should use the product under adult supervision.

They have this product listed at a low to moderate overall hazard level. However, I feel with the amount of people using toothpaste it is a lower hazard level than that. I will still continue to use Crest products, but will compare different brands to Crest to see if there are any significant differences in their hazard levels.

Eye Opener: CSPI

2. Eating Green Calculator

1. Every week my current diet requires 1.1 acres of grain and grass for animal feed and over 30.4 pounds of fertilizer to grow animal feed. Over 7400 pounds of manure are produced by the animals I eat. My diet is currently high in fat at 39% of my daily value and cholesterol at nearly 50% of my daily value.

2. According to the calculator, by eating 1 serving less of beef, chicken, cheese, and milk, I can reduce my environmental burden. My results would be reduced to .8 acres of grain and grass for animal feed, 22.9 pounds of fertilizer to grow animal feed, 5650 pounds of manure, and .2 pounds of pesticide. These changes will help reduce my risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and other diet related problems.

3. I took the pledge. I will be more aware of the products that I am eating and the effects that they will have on the environment. Eating more natural foods that are not processed will benefit my health and the environment in the long run.

Please feel free to calculate the burden your diet has on the environment and things you can do to improve our lifestyle using the eating green calculator.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

My first reaction after taking the ecological footprint quiz (click here for quiz) and seeing that it would take 4.3 planet earths to support the entire world if everyone lived like me, was shocking. I knew there were some things in my lifestyle that I could do more often to improve the environment, but apparently there are many things I should change.

Here is how my results broke down: Services 47%, Food 29%, Goods 13%, Shelter 7%, Mobility 4%. According to these results services were the biggest area of resources I used, followed by food as the two most significant. My current lifestyle produces 19 tons of carbon dioxide, which is a hazard to the environment.

One thing I could change is the amount of meat that I eat each day. The majority of my meals contain some type of meat and other processed or packaged food items. Eating more food that comes from a local source would help benefit the environment. I am also trying to bike or walk to some places that I go instead of driving my car. One thing I wish I took advantage of is public transportation. Even though taking public transportation can be less convenient, I should take the bus to places instead of driving my car to help the environment. Other simple things I need to do more often is recycle, use less electricity, and use less water. Improving on these things will create a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and hopefully lower the number of planet earths resources I use.

Welcome to Colton's Healthy Lakes

My name is Colton Borwege. I am a student at the University of Duluth, majoring in Community Health Education. My blog is about the lakes in Minnesota and what people can do to keep them clean and healthy. I enjoy fishing, boating, and swimming in Minnesota lakes and keeping them healthy is important to me.

There are 5 possible types of posts in my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Share and Voice

The Members of my web group are:

1. Hannah@hikingwithhannahb
2. Judy@Judy's Cloud Contemplations
3. Sarah@Sarah's EcoEndeavors
4. Dr. V/ Kristen@Enviro-Surfing with Amy and Kristen

You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."

Please feel free to explore and post on my blog. Hopefully readers of this blog will come away with a few things they can do to help keep Minnesota lakes clean and healthy.