just a few things repurposed and reused, thought you all might enjoy =]
http://twistedsifter.com/2012/06/creative-ways-to-repurpose-reuse-and-upcycle-old-things/
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The End?
Well, I had originally started off this blog as a way to write down my assignments for class and to discuss various environmental problems. And although I don't enjoy using blogger much, I may still occasionally post here for everyone to read and enjoy. My class is coming to an end and I'm going to be discussing what I had learned over the semester and various things which I had enjoyed learning.
To start, I must say that there is no single environmental issue that is more important than another. Some may be more important than others, but there is not one that is most important. All do a great deal of effecting the environment and it's a combination of them which is damaging it. People hear things like green house gases and assume it's all coming from the fumes of our cars, but its a combination of that and many more things. So, as I had just stated, there is no issue that is more important than another.
The only real issue that I think is important (and one which I just learned about and really though about recently) was the idea of reduce reuse recycle. There is a reason it's said that way. Because we all know that as much as we try to recycle, things sometimes get left behind. By reducing what we buy, we create less trash by not having any to start with. I was just thinking about this the other day too, when I had seen a "buy one get the second on half off" on a drink. I thought to myself, this is a good deal, but I didn't need it, and it was just more trash. If I indeed had bought it, I could just imagine how many more people thought like I did and doubled their purchase, making twice as much trash from that specific product. Anyways, onto part number 2 of the idea of reducing reusing and recycling is to reuse. As many of you might know, recycling isn't always efficient. If I can reuse the same plastic bottle I was drinking from and fill it up again with water, that would be great! less trash right there. Finally, the last step is recycling, something we can all do. This is obvious just walking around anywhere where humans are present, I'm always seeing things that can easily be recycled which aren't, they're just thrown away, and not even in a trash can, on the floor. If we all followed these three easy steps, even just a little bit, it would make a great difference.
One of the interesting facts I learned about just recently was plastic, in the documentary bag it. It really is just wild how many things are made of plastic and how much of it we don't need. It definitely changed the way I think about things, especially since I walked into this class just because it interested me, I didn't really know what I would learn or how it would affect me. I also really enjoyed watching dive! and learning about dumpster diving and just how much food we throw away. It still amazes me just how much trash is tossed away and how we seem to just turn the other cheek or choose to be ignorant.
This class had me thinking that perhaps everyone should at one point take an environmental science class, just to see how they impact society. There are plenty of classes were required to take throughout our lives, what's one more? There are plenty of things I plan on changing and am currently changing about the way I do things. I already started eating less meat and started eating at lower trophic levels, using less, and being more concerned, as well as educating myself even more. Education and knowledge are the best things one can have, and everyday, I'm starting to learn that more and more.
To start, I must say that there is no single environmental issue that is more important than another. Some may be more important than others, but there is not one that is most important. All do a great deal of effecting the environment and it's a combination of them which is damaging it. People hear things like green house gases and assume it's all coming from the fumes of our cars, but its a combination of that and many more things. So, as I had just stated, there is no issue that is more important than another.
The only real issue that I think is important (and one which I just learned about and really though about recently) was the idea of reduce reuse recycle. There is a reason it's said that way. Because we all know that as much as we try to recycle, things sometimes get left behind. By reducing what we buy, we create less trash by not having any to start with. I was just thinking about this the other day too, when I had seen a "buy one get the second on half off" on a drink. I thought to myself, this is a good deal, but I didn't need it, and it was just more trash. If I indeed had bought it, I could just imagine how many more people thought like I did and doubled their purchase, making twice as much trash from that specific product. Anyways, onto part number 2 of the idea of reducing reusing and recycling is to reuse. As many of you might know, recycling isn't always efficient. If I can reuse the same plastic bottle I was drinking from and fill it up again with water, that would be great! less trash right there. Finally, the last step is recycling, something we can all do. This is obvious just walking around anywhere where humans are present, I'm always seeing things that can easily be recycled which aren't, they're just thrown away, and not even in a trash can, on the floor. If we all followed these three easy steps, even just a little bit, it would make a great difference.
One of the interesting facts I learned about just recently was plastic, in the documentary bag it. It really is just wild how many things are made of plastic and how much of it we don't need. It definitely changed the way I think about things, especially since I walked into this class just because it interested me, I didn't really know what I would learn or how it would affect me. I also really enjoyed watching dive! and learning about dumpster diving and just how much food we throw away. It still amazes me just how much trash is tossed away and how we seem to just turn the other cheek or choose to be ignorant.
This class had me thinking that perhaps everyone should at one point take an environmental science class, just to see how they impact society. There are plenty of classes were required to take throughout our lives, what's one more? There are plenty of things I plan on changing and am currently changing about the way I do things. I already started eating less meat and started eating at lower trophic levels, using less, and being more concerned, as well as educating myself even more. Education and knowledge are the best things one can have, and everyday, I'm starting to learn that more and more.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Global Warming: Fact or Myth?
Hi there. Today's topic is global warming and whether it exists or not and what I think about it.
First, I would like to post this video I had seen a while back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORv8wwiadQ
I had seen this video a couple years back and thought it had a couple interesting ideas, although the guy is a bit extreme. If you have an extra ten minutes to watch, do so.
The thing I like about youtube videos is that, no matter what video you watch, in the comments section you will always find someone arguing/debating with someone else. Now in this one, you can't always trust what everyone says, because after all it is youtube, but you have a wider variety of watchers and points of view from different people.
The point of the video is that we debate whether global warming is fact or myth. But whether it's real or not, we shouldn't debate on that. Lets face it, we're just wasting more and more money to find out whether or not it exists. We should take the precautionary measures to fix the environment, because the risk is much outweighed in not doing so. Plus, if we do anything that is environmentally friendly, even if global warming doesn't exist, we are still bettering the environment.
The question I will be answering today are: 1) According to evidence, is the climate changing? 2) What does the evidence say about human roles and impacts? 3) How is climate change likely to affect us? I will also be answering why skepticism still exists and why people might or might not believe in global warming.
One thing I read, as well as learned from both my marine biology class and readings online is that phytoplankton makes roughly %70-%80 of the oxygen in the atmosphere. I also read online that ocean acidification from carbon emissions is having an impact on marine life. These carbon emissions aren't coming from anywhere else but us humans, so we have to cut it down, and the site which i read this on (http://dels-old.nas.edu/climatechange/) said we should restrict our use of carbon emissions to %50 of what it used to be in 1990!
On the site http://unfccc.int/resource/iuckit/cckit2001en.pdf, it is estimated that the climate could go up anywhere from 1.4-5.8 degrees Celsius in the next hundred years. They also stated that this would be a bigger rise in temperature than there has ever been, meaning we are obviously the ones causing it, because it does not seem to be done naturally.
On http://environment.yale.edu/climate/, Yale scientists stated that over half of all Americans believe in global warming, although not everyone says it is caused by humans. It is fact, and we can look back at temperatures from previous years, that the globe is getting hotter. But we are also increasing the temperature faster than we should.
So far it seems that yes, the climate is changing, regardless of human impact or not, but the evidence also says that it is most likely human impact. Now how is it affecting us? As mentioned, it is having an impact on marine life, as well as the ozone layer. So what else is left on the globe for us to destroy? There are too many ways in which we are affecting the earth, too many to state.
Now onto the skepticism. Many scientists believe in global warming, but there are also those who don't believe. On the website http://heartland.org/ideas/global-warming-not-crisis it states global warming is not a crisis. Yet it also mentions just before that, that two thirds of the global warming in the 1990's was natural. They're trying to brush off the one third of the global warming that we did as if it were nothing. That ridiculous! That is quite the impact. So now, back to the video I had first mentioned, we can keep arguing about whether warming exists or not, or we can take action, since even the skeptics know we are warming the earth, and do something about it. We're spending money on deciding whether warming is caused by humans or not or if it's even happening when we could be spending it on making things better. So now it's up to us.
First, I would like to post this video I had seen a while back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORv8wwiadQ
I had seen this video a couple years back and thought it had a couple interesting ideas, although the guy is a bit extreme. If you have an extra ten minutes to watch, do so.
The thing I like about youtube videos is that, no matter what video you watch, in the comments section you will always find someone arguing/debating with someone else. Now in this one, you can't always trust what everyone says, because after all it is youtube, but you have a wider variety of watchers and points of view from different people.
The point of the video is that we debate whether global warming is fact or myth. But whether it's real or not, we shouldn't debate on that. Lets face it, we're just wasting more and more money to find out whether or not it exists. We should take the precautionary measures to fix the environment, because the risk is much outweighed in not doing so. Plus, if we do anything that is environmentally friendly, even if global warming doesn't exist, we are still bettering the environment.
The question I will be answering today are: 1) According to evidence, is the climate changing? 2) What does the evidence say about human roles and impacts? 3) How is climate change likely to affect us? I will also be answering why skepticism still exists and why people might or might not believe in global warming.
One thing I read, as well as learned from both my marine biology class and readings online is that phytoplankton makes roughly %70-%80 of the oxygen in the atmosphere. I also read online that ocean acidification from carbon emissions is having an impact on marine life. These carbon emissions aren't coming from anywhere else but us humans, so we have to cut it down, and the site which i read this on (http://dels-old.nas.edu/climatechange/) said we should restrict our use of carbon emissions to %50 of what it used to be in 1990!
On the site http://unfccc.int/resource/iuckit/cckit2001en.pdf, it is estimated that the climate could go up anywhere from 1.4-5.8 degrees Celsius in the next hundred years. They also stated that this would be a bigger rise in temperature than there has ever been, meaning we are obviously the ones causing it, because it does not seem to be done naturally.
On http://environment.yale.edu/climate/, Yale scientists stated that over half of all Americans believe in global warming, although not everyone says it is caused by humans. It is fact, and we can look back at temperatures from previous years, that the globe is getting hotter. But we are also increasing the temperature faster than we should.
So far it seems that yes, the climate is changing, regardless of human impact or not, but the evidence also says that it is most likely human impact. Now how is it affecting us? As mentioned, it is having an impact on marine life, as well as the ozone layer. So what else is left on the globe for us to destroy? There are too many ways in which we are affecting the earth, too many to state.
Now onto the skepticism. Many scientists believe in global warming, but there are also those who don't believe. On the website http://heartland.org/ideas/global-warming-not-crisis it states global warming is not a crisis. Yet it also mentions just before that, that two thirds of the global warming in the 1990's was natural. They're trying to brush off the one third of the global warming that we did as if it were nothing. That ridiculous! That is quite the impact. So now, back to the video I had first mentioned, we can keep arguing about whether warming exists or not, or we can take action, since even the skeptics know we are warming the earth, and do something about it. We're spending money on deciding whether warming is caused by humans or not or if it's even happening when we could be spending it on making things better. So now it's up to us.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Green Chemistry
Hi everyone! This post has to do with a reading I got from my environmental science class about chemical hazards and human health. The reading can be found here:
http://faculty.rcc.edu/huff/spring%202012/enviromental%20science/blog%20assignments/Regulating_Toxic_Chemicals.pdf
The reading talked about many issues, including, but not limited to: chemicals and the risks, how much we know about them, how stricter regulations can effect manufacturers as well as consumers, and so on. It's amazing just how many chemicals are out there, and how with some, although they may be eaten and pose no threat, can pose a threat when breathing them in, such as with certain chemicals found in butter substitutes. I found it funny that they put chemicals on pillows to keep them flame-retardent, yet those chemicals can mess with your head. This reading also had interesting ideas which I never would have thought of, such as how Terry Collins, a professor of chemistry and director of the Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University, mentioned, which was that BPA used on compact discs or car parts might not be of as much concern as it would be if it were found on baby toys and bottles. The article may have had too much to offer in my opinion so I will be focusing on one topic, green chemistry.
Green chemistry is the design of chemicals which have a reduced impact on the environment. One example which I learned about in the reading was the use of resins and toners for office copiers and printers made of soy and corn feedstocks. This made the inks easier to remove from the paper, which in turn made it easier to recycle the paper and reuse it. The EPA provides money in the form of grants, as well as awards to companies which are using this new way. I also found it that a dozen or so universities offer these programs, which could make it a new up and coming green career. Big companies such as General Electric are investing tons of money into making their products more green using green chemistry. Senator John Kerry stated that "It's time for Washington to respond by helping to build a whole, new chemistry industry that's on a mission to make American greener." Collins also mentioned that green chemistry would likely exist without all the focus on hazardous products, but would be better utilized if it were to deal with them. I personally think that this is a great idea. I mean there's so much I've learned in my environmental science class that we humans do to impact the environment, and there's so many ways in which we can approach and fix these mistakes, and green chemistry is just one new way I've learned about. I think it's awesome how people are doing this and finding new ways to make things which we need, but find nicer ways of making them so the environment won't be harmed as much.
I decided to look up on green chemistry and found these two websites:
http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/june2011/principles.htm
http://www.beyondbenign.org/greenchemistry/greenchem.html
The first site provided describes the 12 principles of green chemistry, which include: prevention, meaning the prevention of waste, less hazardous chemical synthesis, designing for energy efficiency, design for degradation, and many more. All twelve steps are provided in the website above. The second deals with a bit more with describing green chemistry, as well as providing its own links on how companies use them and on getting training for green chemistry. The definition which they provide in the first sentence on the site provided is the best I was able to find. It reads "Green Chemistry is a revolutionary philosophy that seeks to unite government, academic and industrial communities by placing more focus on environmental impacts at the earliest stage of innovation". I loved learning about green chemistry because it is an "untapped opportunity for ingenuity" and will definitely benefit in the future of the environment.
http://faculty.rcc.edu/huff/spring%202012/enviromental%20science/blog%20assignments/Regulating_Toxic_Chemicals.pdf
The reading talked about many issues, including, but not limited to: chemicals and the risks, how much we know about them, how stricter regulations can effect manufacturers as well as consumers, and so on. It's amazing just how many chemicals are out there, and how with some, although they may be eaten and pose no threat, can pose a threat when breathing them in, such as with certain chemicals found in butter substitutes. I found it funny that they put chemicals on pillows to keep them flame-retardent, yet those chemicals can mess with your head. This reading also had interesting ideas which I never would have thought of, such as how Terry Collins, a professor of chemistry and director of the Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University, mentioned, which was that BPA used on compact discs or car parts might not be of as much concern as it would be if it were found on baby toys and bottles. The article may have had too much to offer in my opinion so I will be focusing on one topic, green chemistry.
Green chemistry is the design of chemicals which have a reduced impact on the environment. One example which I learned about in the reading was the use of resins and toners for office copiers and printers made of soy and corn feedstocks. This made the inks easier to remove from the paper, which in turn made it easier to recycle the paper and reuse it. The EPA provides money in the form of grants, as well as awards to companies which are using this new way. I also found it that a dozen or so universities offer these programs, which could make it a new up and coming green career. Big companies such as General Electric are investing tons of money into making their products more green using green chemistry. Senator John Kerry stated that "It's time for Washington to respond by helping to build a whole, new chemistry industry that's on a mission to make American greener." Collins also mentioned that green chemistry would likely exist without all the focus on hazardous products, but would be better utilized if it were to deal with them. I personally think that this is a great idea. I mean there's so much I've learned in my environmental science class that we humans do to impact the environment, and there's so many ways in which we can approach and fix these mistakes, and green chemistry is just one new way I've learned about. I think it's awesome how people are doing this and finding new ways to make things which we need, but find nicer ways of making them so the environment won't be harmed as much.
I decided to look up on green chemistry and found these two websites:
http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/june2011/principles.htm
http://www.beyondbenign.org/greenchemistry/greenchem.html
The first site provided describes the 12 principles of green chemistry, which include: prevention, meaning the prevention of waste, less hazardous chemical synthesis, designing for energy efficiency, design for degradation, and many more. All twelve steps are provided in the website above. The second deals with a bit more with describing green chemistry, as well as providing its own links on how companies use them and on getting training for green chemistry. The definition which they provide in the first sentence on the site provided is the best I was able to find. It reads "Green Chemistry is a revolutionary philosophy that seeks to unite government, academic and industrial communities by placing more focus on environmental impacts at the earliest stage of innovation". I loved learning about green chemistry because it is an "untapped opportunity for ingenuity" and will definitely benefit in the future of the environment.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Where does my water come from and how does it get there
The title is fairly self-explanatory. I want to know where my water is coming from and if it is indeed safe, as well as answer a few other questions. First and foremost, I live in Riverside, California. I used the Riverside Public Utilities website to find out that the water that I get from my tap gets there from the Evans Reservoir, but before it gets there, it comes from local mountain streams and lakes. The helpful water report let me know that in California, they have some of the highest standards, and that the water here exceeds both federal and state standards, making it safe. No extra filtration is needed unless I would like to cut out the amount of chlorine that is in the tap water.
So who makes sure my water is safe? The United States Environmental Protection Agency does, at least for the water that I get through my tap. For water that I get from bottles, it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Typically, bottled water does not contain added fluoride while tap water does. Another thing is that chemicals can be leached from the plastic and glass bottles onto the water, but the same goes for water from the tap, which can get chemicals from the pipelines. One thing that does differ though, is that EPA tested water is tested much more regularly and also tested by the States as well. So in a sense, tap water is tested much more.
As mentioned above, some of the drawbacks of bottled water include the leached chemicals, as well as the high cost. It also isn't tested as often, and sometimes isn't even changed when it is packaged. It also has to come from somewhere, often the tap, so it is just as safe and unsafe as tap water, but then gets the chemicals leaked from the bottles. As the story of stuff had mentioned, all these bottles of plastic also end up being thrown away if not recycled, or downsized. It also costs money and valuable water to make the bottles. There is also the means of transporting it, wasting time and energy, as well as emitting gases into the atmosphere. Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you see or hear, but what I do know from my own experience is that tap water is cheaper, and doesn't use or waste any plastic bottles, which is good enough for me.
So who makes sure my water is safe? The United States Environmental Protection Agency does, at least for the water that I get through my tap. For water that I get from bottles, it is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Typically, bottled water does not contain added fluoride while tap water does. Another thing is that chemicals can be leached from the plastic and glass bottles onto the water, but the same goes for water from the tap, which can get chemicals from the pipelines. One thing that does differ though, is that EPA tested water is tested much more regularly and also tested by the States as well. So in a sense, tap water is tested much more.
As mentioned above, some of the drawbacks of bottled water include the leached chemicals, as well as the high cost. It also isn't tested as often, and sometimes isn't even changed when it is packaged. It also has to come from somewhere, often the tap, so it is just as safe and unsafe as tap water, but then gets the chemicals leaked from the bottles. As the story of stuff had mentioned, all these bottles of plastic also end up being thrown away if not recycled, or downsized. It also costs money and valuable water to make the bottles. There is also the means of transporting it, wasting time and energy, as well as emitting gases into the atmosphere. Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you see or hear, but what I do know from my own experience is that tap water is cheaper, and doesn't use or waste any plastic bottles, which is good enough for me.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Rockstar Light Vanilla Roasted
Hi there everyone! For my blog today I will be discussing a product which I like to drink and go into detail of where it comes from and what exactly it's made of to get a better look at what is really in the foods and drinks we consume. The product I will be talking about today is Rockstar Light Vanilla Roasted, one which I drink about once a week. I decided on this product because I was never a big energy drink consumer but do occasionally need that small boost about once a week.
So what exactly is in this flavor of Rockstar? I got the list of ingredients from the website, which lists : brewed espresso coffee, whole milk, sucrose, non-fat milk, taurine, natural flavors, salt, potassium phosphate, sodium phosphate, caffeine, mono and diglycerides, inositol, l-carnitine, milk thistle extract, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, ginko biloba leaf extract, caramel color, guarana seed extract, panax ginseng root extract, pyridoxine hrydrochloride, and cyanocobalamin. A few of the items are quite self-explanatory, such as the milk or brewed coffee, or even caffeine, but others are not quite so easy to understand. In order, sucrose is pretty much just an organic compound mostly known as table sugar. Then there is taurine, which was described as an amino acid which helps neurological development. potassium phosphate is the compound combing potassium and phosphoric acid. These work as a PH buffer to keep the acidity of the drink where it should be. Sodium phosphates can have many different purposes within foods or drinks and are studied quite well and are known to be safe. These can also be used as a PH buffer as well as just an essential nutrient in the drink for humans. Mono and diglycerides are pretty much found in animal fat and vegetable oil. It can be used to extend shelf life of foods and drinks. Inositol is a vitamin like substance which can be used for various reasons. It can be used as an antioxident, and also works well with b-vitamins. L-carnitine is an amino acid used as a building block for proteins, and helps convert food to energy. Milk-thisle extract is used for liver suport in energy drinks, because, as you may have noticed, there are a lot of vitamins and such which may be too much for the liver, so this helps to balance it out. Niacinamide is pretty much just a form of vitamin b3, and calcium pantothenate is just vitamin B5 which is pretty much used in the release of energy from carbohydrates. Acesulfame potassium and sucralose are sweeteners used mostly because they are calorie free. Ginko biloba leaf extract may have a few reasons for being in Rockstars, one being that it improves on blood flow and circulation. Guarana seed extract is used in energy drinks for its natural levels of caffeine. There wasn't much reason I could find for panax ginseng root extract to be in rockstar other than the fact that it lowers blood glucose levels, which could be good for those who drink energy drinks. Pyridoxine hydrochloride is vitamin B6, used for proper nerve function and metabolizing nutrients. Cyanocobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 used for a healthy nervous and immune system. Now there could be a lot more to write about for each of the ingredients, as well as both good and bad effects of each ingredient, so much more research would need to be done specifically if one would like to know more about it.
The company Rockstar energy drink is centrally located in Las Vegas, Nevada, but sells its products all over the world. I was unable to find exactly where the energy drink was made, so my assumption would be they make it at Las Vegas. It was manufactured by the company, which benefits from all the money made. As far as environmental impacts, it is packaged in 16 oz. cans which usually go out to grocery stores and other stores in 24 pack cases. Aside from shipping and being packaged, I'm unable to find any other way it might impact the environment. The company, much like its competitor Redbull, hosts many concerts and events which can impact the environment, such as motocross races which can damage a property and release fumes into the air. The drink itself, in my opinion, is tasty, and can be both healthy and unhealthy depending on how you see it. As stated above when the ingredients and what the use of them was for, they could go either way. Some of the ingredients can only be taken in small doses. For example, panax ginseng root extract can cause bleeding of the nose or estrogen like effects, including tenderness of the breasts or male erectile dysfunction in certain cases. So, although I don't think it's healthy, so long as I'm not drinking them all the time for the rest of my life, I won't mind having one every once in a while.
So there it is, just a bit more info and look into a product which I decided to write about. Most of the information I was able to gather was from Rockstars website (Rockstar69.com), or from livestrong.com.
So what exactly is in this flavor of Rockstar? I got the list of ingredients from the website, which lists : brewed espresso coffee, whole milk, sucrose, non-fat milk, taurine, natural flavors, salt, potassium phosphate, sodium phosphate, caffeine, mono and diglycerides, inositol, l-carnitine, milk thistle extract, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, ginko biloba leaf extract, caramel color, guarana seed extract, panax ginseng root extract, pyridoxine hrydrochloride, and cyanocobalamin. A few of the items are quite self-explanatory, such as the milk or brewed coffee, or even caffeine, but others are not quite so easy to understand. In order, sucrose is pretty much just an organic compound mostly known as table sugar. Then there is taurine, which was described as an amino acid which helps neurological development. potassium phosphate is the compound combing potassium and phosphoric acid. These work as a PH buffer to keep the acidity of the drink where it should be. Sodium phosphates can have many different purposes within foods or drinks and are studied quite well and are known to be safe. These can also be used as a PH buffer as well as just an essential nutrient in the drink for humans. Mono and diglycerides are pretty much found in animal fat and vegetable oil. It can be used to extend shelf life of foods and drinks. Inositol is a vitamin like substance which can be used for various reasons. It can be used as an antioxident, and also works well with b-vitamins. L-carnitine is an amino acid used as a building block for proteins, and helps convert food to energy. Milk-thisle extract is used for liver suport in energy drinks, because, as you may have noticed, there are a lot of vitamins and such which may be too much for the liver, so this helps to balance it out. Niacinamide is pretty much just a form of vitamin b3, and calcium pantothenate is just vitamin B5 which is pretty much used in the release of energy from carbohydrates. Acesulfame potassium and sucralose are sweeteners used mostly because they are calorie free. Ginko biloba leaf extract may have a few reasons for being in Rockstars, one being that it improves on blood flow and circulation. Guarana seed extract is used in energy drinks for its natural levels of caffeine. There wasn't much reason I could find for panax ginseng root extract to be in rockstar other than the fact that it lowers blood glucose levels, which could be good for those who drink energy drinks. Pyridoxine hydrochloride is vitamin B6, used for proper nerve function and metabolizing nutrients. Cyanocobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 used for a healthy nervous and immune system. Now there could be a lot more to write about for each of the ingredients, as well as both good and bad effects of each ingredient, so much more research would need to be done specifically if one would like to know more about it.
The company Rockstar energy drink is centrally located in Las Vegas, Nevada, but sells its products all over the world. I was unable to find exactly where the energy drink was made, so my assumption would be they make it at Las Vegas. It was manufactured by the company, which benefits from all the money made. As far as environmental impacts, it is packaged in 16 oz. cans which usually go out to grocery stores and other stores in 24 pack cases. Aside from shipping and being packaged, I'm unable to find any other way it might impact the environment. The company, much like its competitor Redbull, hosts many concerts and events which can impact the environment, such as motocross races which can damage a property and release fumes into the air. The drink itself, in my opinion, is tasty, and can be both healthy and unhealthy depending on how you see it. As stated above when the ingredients and what the use of them was for, they could go either way. Some of the ingredients can only be taken in small doses. For example, panax ginseng root extract can cause bleeding of the nose or estrogen like effects, including tenderness of the breasts or male erectile dysfunction in certain cases. So, although I don't think it's healthy, so long as I'm not drinking them all the time for the rest of my life, I won't mind having one every once in a while.
So there it is, just a bit more info and look into a product which I decided to write about. Most of the information I was able to gather was from Rockstars website (Rockstar69.com), or from livestrong.com.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
campus sustainability
How sustainable can a campus such as RCC be? There are many factors one could measure to figure this out. For example, how about measuring the amount of trash thrown away. Or even better, measuring the amount of trash that's being thrown away compared to what amount of that trash might be something which could be recyclable, such as cans or other recyclable material such as paper? That's where I would start. Then, I would measure the amount of electricity being wasted through things such as keeping the lights on and A/C running in classrooms/bathrooms which aren't being used(which, by the way, I don't understand why it always has to be freezing in there). We could also measure the cost of how much electricity the campus uses in general and try to cut that down, or how efficient everything is, such as the air conditioning and heating, which could be lost due to poor insulation in the buildings. Another way to measure the sustainability which we may not think of so much is the use of harmful chemicals in products used to sanitate and clean the bathrooms, classrooms, and overall campus. Another factor which can easily go unnoticed is the amount of trash build-up from things such as the styrofoam plates used at the cafeteria or disposable cups used for coffee.
A perfect example of a university trying to transform their campus into a more sustainable one is UC Davis with their new West Village "zero-net energy" living towers. The Towers plan on making up as much energy as they use through the use of solar panels. Not only that, but the way the towers were built allow for them to get in much sunlight without too much heat, and the courtyard below will soak up all the excess rainwater into the grass so it won't over-flood any of the storm drains. The building is made with extra thick amounts of insulation to keep them warm on cool days and cold on warm days so much energy won't have to be used on the A/C and heating. Not only that, but any energy not used which the solar panels make during the day will be sent back to the grid so it can be used whenever no sunlight is available. To learn more about the project, a simple google search of UC Davis' West Village will provide many articles.
A factor which I would personally want to fix is the use of harmful products used around campus. Now I don't actually know if RCC uses harmful chemicals to clean bathrooms or around the school, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to say they probably don't. First thing to do would be to look at what products are used around the school, from things such as bleach and toilet bowl cleaner, to things such as pesticides if those are used around the campus, or cleaning products in the kitchen. We would need to know how if any of the products are harmful and just harmful they might be. We would need to take a look at what toll they have on the environment and where these chemicals might end up. I would measure just how much of these chemicals are ending up around the campus by simply doing an inventory check on how much was bought and used for the year of these different chemicals. A few people I can talk to about this would be the local janitors and cafeteria cooks and cleaners to see what they use, as well as talking to whoever keeps inventory on the products used to see what is being used throughout the year. To get permission to do all this surveying, I would probably try and contact president of the school since I'm sure he would be the one I would need permission from, and if not, then I'm sure he could point me in the right direction. I would get fellow classmates from my environmental science class to help out so they may gain both a learning experience as well as perhaps have it count for extra credit/volunteer work (after asking the teacher if that would be fine, of course!). After all is said and done, I would have to do some research to see what products there are out there which aren't quite as harmful (or preferably harmless) and also won't cost the school more. I would also try to see what other schools might be using on their campus and do research on that. With a little research online, we can all see that there are obviously ways to create a more sustainable campus, it just takes a little research as well as seeing what others are doing to make their campus more green.
A perfect example of a university trying to transform their campus into a more sustainable one is UC Davis with their new West Village "zero-net energy" living towers. The Towers plan on making up as much energy as they use through the use of solar panels. Not only that, but the way the towers were built allow for them to get in much sunlight without too much heat, and the courtyard below will soak up all the excess rainwater into the grass so it won't over-flood any of the storm drains. The building is made with extra thick amounts of insulation to keep them warm on cool days and cold on warm days so much energy won't have to be used on the A/C and heating. Not only that, but any energy not used which the solar panels make during the day will be sent back to the grid so it can be used whenever no sunlight is available. To learn more about the project, a simple google search of UC Davis' West Village will provide many articles.
A factor which I would personally want to fix is the use of harmful products used around campus. Now I don't actually know if RCC uses harmful chemicals to clean bathrooms or around the school, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to say they probably don't. First thing to do would be to look at what products are used around the school, from things such as bleach and toilet bowl cleaner, to things such as pesticides if those are used around the campus, or cleaning products in the kitchen. We would need to know how if any of the products are harmful and just harmful they might be. We would need to take a look at what toll they have on the environment and where these chemicals might end up. I would measure just how much of these chemicals are ending up around the campus by simply doing an inventory check on how much was bought and used for the year of these different chemicals. A few people I can talk to about this would be the local janitors and cafeteria cooks and cleaners to see what they use, as well as talking to whoever keeps inventory on the products used to see what is being used throughout the year. To get permission to do all this surveying, I would probably try and contact president of the school since I'm sure he would be the one I would need permission from, and if not, then I'm sure he could point me in the right direction. I would get fellow classmates from my environmental science class to help out so they may gain both a learning experience as well as perhaps have it count for extra credit/volunteer work (after asking the teacher if that would be fine, of course!). After all is said and done, I would have to do some research to see what products there are out there which aren't quite as harmful (or preferably harmless) and also won't cost the school more. I would also try to see what other schools might be using on their campus and do research on that. With a little research online, we can all see that there are obviously ways to create a more sustainable campus, it just takes a little research as well as seeing what others are doing to make their campus more green.
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