Little changes really DO make a big difference: Farewell and keep the green movement going

With “green” cemented as this year’s buzz word I am confident that Americans are growing to be more aware of the environment and what we are doing to it. The past 12 weeks or so have given me a unique opportunity to be curious and explore various green technologies, government strategies to be more environmentally friendly and re-evaluate the way I choose to live my own life. Although I have not yet received any comments on this blog from outside readers, I am confident that it was well worth the effort. At the very least I have learned about myself and how I can lead a more environmentally friendly and sustainable life. My family and friends have also been influenced by my experience.

Whenever I see one of my friends of family members toss a recyclable in the trash…it sparks a conversation. I throw facts and figures at them about how long it takes that particular item to decompose in a landfill. Although I’ve had the privilege of spending an entire semester getting closer to our earth…I still feel like there is a wealth of information I have not yet been exposed to. I cant help but think about the rest of our population. It is crucial that we as a nation take notice of what we are doing to our environment and make changes in our everyday lives to live more sustainably.

I’d like to think that each and everyone of us can make a difference, but deep down I still don’t think the individual is that powerful. Of course, when we take those extra steps to be more environmentally friendly, we will also become more aware of our environment. But, alone those little things really just make a small, maybe even miniscule, dent in the problem. However, the individual changes help educate people about the issues at hand and together we, as a society, can call more attention to the issues and really make a big impact. The plastic water bottle you recycle is not going to change the world, the conversations you have attempting to educate others about recycling and the environment as a whole will foster education and will move us forward.

The first day of the semester when fellow catscanners were choosing their blog topics I began to think about how the class will actually help make a difference. Several blogs aimed to investigate organic foods and green travel…I couldn’t grasp how these mini-changes would really have an influence. After reading countless articles and educating myself about the issues I slowly began to grasp the importance of these mini changes. They facilitate the bigger changes and are the catalyst for big change.

I am excited to see what happens in the future and thank my readers for their interest and hope they go on to make small changes, have those conversations and be a part of the larger movement towards a more sustainable nation and healthier world. Hopefully I will be able to continue blogging in the future…maybe not every week…but I will definitely try to keep up with it if only for myself.

And, if this entire blog is not enough to convince you that doing something good for the environment is the right thing to do and well worth the effort...mabe these cute cuddly animals will change your mind.

Sweetwater Wetlands...not so sweet

TUCSON, Ariz. – Driving from Phoenix to Tucson is not the most pleasant or serene drive and the smell of sewage that fills your car once you hit Prince Rd. lets you know you’ve arrived in Tucson.


trust me it stunk!

This past weekend I found where that awful smell originates; the Sweetwater Wetland. Located between the I-10 and the Santa Cruz River just north of Prince Rd, the wetlands actually serve an environmental function. The Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Plant down the street feeds the wetlands its secondary effluent which includes shower and sink water. At first glance you wouldn’t guess that the water in the relaxing ponds is actually effluent, it’s the change in the wind that wafts the awful smell back to your nose that gives it away. Aside form the occasional stinky moments, the facility is actually one of the city’s greenest ventures yet.







The wetlands primary function is to treat the secondary effluent and leftovers from the water treatment plant’s reclaimed water system. You might be wondering why the water treatment plant doesn’t take care of this problem. Well they do but the wetlands can do it in a more eco-friendly, and not to mention, more aesthetically pleasing manner.

The City of Tucson’s explains:

”As a water treatment facility, the wetlands are designed to be one of Tucson's most important facets of the City's Reclaimed Water System. Water treated at the wetlands filters through sediments beneath the recharged basins and replenishes the local aquifer. This reclaimed wastewater is recovered by extraction wells during periods of high water demand and is distributed for reuse throughout the City's golf courses, parks, schools and other large turf irrigations areas. Using this reclaimed water means that we can have a "greener" community without using our drinking water to keep the grass and other plants alive.”

The Wetlands also serve as a nice green retreat from the expansive brown desert landscape that surrounds Tucson. It is like an oasis in the middle of the desert, a stinky oasis…but an oasis. Tucsonans come to the Sweetwater Wetlands to walk along the gravel paths and look for wildlife. Bird watchers can often be found here. Animals use the wetlands as a retreat from the hot and arid desert surroundings.


Check it out: Desert oasis fills a need Sweetwater wetlands Tucson Audubon Society Tucson Water

You can do it too.

As editor for the CatScan, an online eco-magazine run by senior journalism students at the University of Arizona, I come across a lot of interesting story ideas. Last week I heard about an online carbon footprint calculator. Some of the reporters plan to use the calculator to measure their footprints for an upcoming story and semi-experiment. I decided to see what my carbon footprint was like.

After entering the Web site I found the calculator hiding at the bottom of the page. With a few clicks and drop down menus I quickly determined my 'secondary' carbon footprint in less than 8 minutes. 5.528 tonnes. First of all, I dont know what a "tonne" is. Secondly, what am I supossed to do with that? Well, the Web site provides a link at the bottom of the results page that give you ways to reduce your carbon footprint based on your responses to the questions above.

As a poor college student I can hardly afford to feed myself let alone spend a lot of money to offset my carbon output. Being that I couldn't really answer all of the questions related to the regular carbon footprint, I answered the secondary footprint questions. It would cost me $84.74 to the Clean Energy Fund to offset JUST my secondary footprint. Unfortunately that's a little pricey for me. And the prices only go up from there. I could pay $114.45 towards reforestation in Kenya or $192.12 towards tree planting in the UK.

Feeling more guilty by the click I decided to just try to buy locally grown foods with less packaging, reduce the amount of driving and focus on encouraging others to do the same. That way I can maintain my routine without sending money halfway around the world. Maybe I'll plant my own tree.

Check it out!




The UK seems to be doing a lot to encourage its residents to reduce their carbon footprints.

EnviroSwim sinks with local government

As the summer months rapidly approach, Tucson, Ariz., is already feeling the heat. With the temperatures in the high 80’s I find myself coming up with excuses to study next to the pool. During this time of year I frequent the pool at the University of Arizona Recreation Center. But recently after a refreshing dip in the pool I noticed my skin began to itch. The strong chemicals used to clean the pool actually affected my skin. Well, I found a company trying to make its mark in Ariz., taking away the sting of harmful chemicals one pool at a time.

EnviroSwim is a company that uses alternative cleaning methods for pools. I know what you’re thinking, alternative cleaning methods…? Well, after talking with Kirs Newkirk one of the EnviroSwim owners working to bring the product to the US I learned more about how ‘alternative cleaning’ really works.

The product uses Copper and Silver to ionize the water, killing bacteria faster and more effectively than chlorine and chemicals. So, after a long conversation with Kris about the system and attempting to decipher a lot of technical jargon about ionization and electrodes, I gave up. Kris told me about government run facilities in Australia that use the system but also said that Maricopa County here in Arizona won’t use the system despite it being safer and cheaper than its chlorine alternative.

Apparently Maricopa County has laws regulating the amount of chlorine is used in public pools. After looking into it myself, the laws seem to talk only about Ph levels in the pool. So, why isn't Maricopa County jumping on board. The benefits seem to be pretty great:

• Reduces pump running times - some of our customers have reported a 50% saving in power consumption.
• Increases life of plant and equipment.
• Highlights water consumption and determine actual leakage.
• Reduces chlorine odour and corrosion indoor pools especially.
• Reduces the consumption of Chlorine and pH controlling chemicals whilst still maintaining Health Department guidelines.
• Highlights inefficient heaters, pumps etc and advise on most cost effective remedy (High cost centre)
• Eliminates the use of Aluminium sulphate and Stabiliser
• Improves water quality
• Improves safety for swimmers and staff.

Kris told me that the system pays for itself within the first two years. EnviroSwim is planning on opening offices in Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and other cities in the Southwest. It is likely that this green technology will be heading our way soon, even if it isn't at our public pools.

Recyclemania losing its luster?

Ok, so after several weeks blogging about ‘green issues’ this is the first week when I actually struggled to find blogging material. To be honest, I thought this moment would have happened much sooner. So, I took a look around me and tried to think of a blog idea.

A corner in my tiny dorm room was overflowing with recyclables. As part of recyclemania, “a friendly competition among college and university recycling programs in the United States that provides the campus community with a fun, proactive activity in waste reduction,” I have been hording my recyclables to try and earn points for my building at the University of Arizona. But, recyclemania or not I usually hoard my recyclables until I get the chance to take them downstairs to the recycle bins. That thought prompted a different thought…how much does recyclemania actually help?

Based on the numbers, it doesn’t seem like recyclemania is doing much good. Compared to last year, the UA as a whole is recycling less. Check out the results.

The recyclemania program measures three different types of recyclables, paper, corrugated cardboard and bottles/cans. The results for paper this year are slightly above the results from last year…but the numbers in cardboard and bottles/cans are way down. How is this possible, especially after the University of Arizona department of Residence Life has hired a full-time coordinator of sustainability education.

"I have no idea what is going on," said Liz Zavodsky, coordinator of sustainability education for the department of residence life at the University of Arizona. "I know there is a ton of recycling material that is going into the trash. This makes me very sad to see." But despite the disappointing performance in recyclemania this year, Zavodsky remains positive. "This is the first year we have had my position and have taken the education piece to new levels other than just recycling," said Zavodsky. "So I might not have given (recyclemaina) the attention it needs."

Compared to the leader in recyclemania, Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the UA is far behind. Last week, the eighth week in the ten week competition, Kalamazoo recycled 7.36 pounds per person where as the UA recycled a measly .69 pounds per person.

At least we’re beating Arizona State University. They don’t seem to be participating this year, or last year…there are no scores recorded for our big rivals. At least we beat them at something this year, even if it is recycling.

Check out this video made by recyclemania advocates at the University of Arizona.

Green beer...but not really

San Diego, Cali. - This week was spring break for University of Arizona students and I took the opportunity to get out of Arizona. I packed my bags and headed for San Diego, Cali. A trip to a local brewery is the inspiration for this week’s blog.

Located about 40 minutes from San Diego, Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is paving the way in green technologies. But, you wouldn’t necessarily know it at first glance. The reviews all rave about the brewery’s world famous beers brewed on site, the gourmet dishes and impressive structure but few talk about the brewery’s green practices.

“Everything we use is all natural,” said general manager Jim Hurley. The property is home to an impressive a one-acre beer garden used for water reclamation and purification and the occasional after dinner stroll.

From the outdoor beer garden to the bathrooms, Stone is thinking green. “We done use any paper towels,” said Hurley. The waterless urinals in the men’s bathroom also help conserve water and surprisingly do not smell, according to my boyfriend who was quite impressed.

The food was delicious and all organic and locally grown. There are even local farmers that grow specifically for Stone Brewery.

The restaurant and brewery offers the queen of all green dinners once a month. “We do ‘Fresh’ dinners where everything is fresh to us the day of the dinner,” said Hurley.

As my friends and I stood in the garden after our meal we looked from the beer garden towards the massive glass and concrete structure offering a view of the silver brewing vats in the background. It’s looked like an adult equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, the only thing that was missing was a beer waterfall.

Give me a break...green sports?

The CatScan is an online eco-magazine and reports about anything from how to recycle your newspapers to policy change and environmental sustainability. My role working with The CatScan has increased my awareness about ‘green’ issues but has also reduced the amount of material I will accept as true.

Going green or organic or eco-friendly or carbon neutral seems to be used as a marketing ploy stuck on just about every product, political campaign or even sports team. But, what does ‘going green” mean, especially in the sports arena? Well, this week I decided to find out. This week my blog is inspired by an interview I did for an article I am working on for another journalism class.

The Global Sports Alliance or GSA is a company based out of Tokyo, Japan focusing on changing the sports arena to be more environmentally aware. Their philosophy has been to focus on sports enthusiasts as role models and supporters of environmentally friendly practices. At first I was skeptical; no I was actually cynical about a program that uses sports to reduce the carbon footprint of an entire nation let alone the world. It seems like that lack of a sports community would be the best way to reduce negative environmental effects. I mean, c’mon, does it really matter how many napkins you throw away when you’re eating your hot dog at a ball park? Well, it turns out that GSA is not all that interested in the actual effects that sports have on the environment; they’re looking at the common ethic between sportsmanship and environmental sustainability. It’s like ‘fair play’ but with the environment. The GSA philosophy is:

“The fundamental cause of environmental problems is our failure to apply the basic scientific knowledge we learn in school, such as photosynthesis, the heat of evaporation, and the second law of thermodynamics, in society as a whole, widening the gap between ‘what we know’ and ‘what we do.’ Experiencing nature and developing a true consciousness are essential to understanding and applying this knowledge.

If we can promote action in over one billion sport enthusiasts that are truly aware of the importance of clean air and water through personal experience, then we will surely be able to tackle global environmental problems.”

This week I interviewed Jane Poynter made famous through her previous work as a TV host, Biosphere 2 crewmember, sustainability consultant, author, speaker, and technology company president. You might be curious as to how Poynter fits into this whole picture. Well, she says all of her life experiences have a common thread that has led her to join GSA. Jane Poynter is the president of GSA-USA whose headquarters will be located in Tucson, Ariz. My interview with Poynter revealed her goals for GSA-USA and how she’s going to make it successful in the states.

After coming to the realization that many other industries and organizations had or were in the process of tackling environmental issues, Poynter saw a need in the sports arena.

“Who doesn’t love sports?” said Poynter. “If you’re a lover of sports you already think about the air you breathe.”

Through harboring the sportsmanship ethic present in virtually every sport, Poynter and GSA-USA hope to promote the idea of ‘eco-play’. “It’s really very akin to the core of sustainability,” said Poynter.

GSA-USA plans on having ‘teams’ in every major city in the United States by 2010. The teams will be led by team captains and will work on contacting sports teams, sports enthusiasts and community members to foster awareness about environmental issues as well as ask what more can be done?

Although the exact plans for GSA starting up here in the US are still pretty vague, it’s obvious that their voice has been heard elsewhere with a thriving GSA presence in 29 countries. Keep your eye out for GSA in Tucson and around the nation in the near future.

Clean cars, dirty water

One of the items in my daily routine has inspired yet another blog. This past week I decided to treat my Toyota Camry to a much needed car wash. So, between classes I rushed over to Simoniz Car Wash located on Speedway Blvd. and Country Club Rd. As I watched the large scrub brushes covered in suds clean my car in a flash I started to think about water conservation. I went to the car wash on a Tuesday afternoon and I was one of three customers. But, the water kept on running. I decided to investigate what the car wash industry is doing to reduce water waste and encourage water conservation.

I called several car washes in the Tucson area and was unsuccessful. I attempted calling at 10:30 am and only one out of five even answered their phone. After being transferred from receptionist to manager to the corporate office I still didn’t have an answer about water conservation practices at local car washes. Instead, I found a report published by the International Carwash Association that answered my questions.

The report said that “Professional car washes typically use less than one percent of water used in a large or medium size municipality.” The report almost bragged about the “less than one percent of water” use, but I thought one percent was kind of high for just the car wash industry.

Fernando Molina, Conservation Program Manager for the City of Tucson said that the car wash industry uses a relatively small amount of water compared to one of the largest water users, the resort and hotel industry. Not including golf course water requirements, the resort and hotel industry in Tucson still ranks at the top when it comes to water usage.

“Most new carwashes do incorporate water recycling in their business because it pays off for them.” said Molina. “I know of only one that does not recycle their water, the Metro Car Wash on Oracle near Glenn.”

Although the City of Tucson does not currently have a program in place regulating the water usage at car washes, they are trying to find ways to encourage carwash owners to voluntarily make changes. But Molina says the carwashes with water conservation practices currently in place will be less likely to have restrictions on their hours of operation during a drought.

Despite not having official restrictions or certification programs, carwash owners can look to International Carwash Association for that certification.

There is a Carwash Conservation Certification Program that adds extra protection to carwash owners. The certification protects carwash owners from being shutdown during severe drought.

Here are some of the recommendations the association made in a report to carwash owners to reduce water waste and protect them from being shutdown:

Specific Measures for Reducing Water Consumption

• Install lower flow nozzles and run at lower pressure.
• Alignment of nozzles should be checked on a regular basis.
• Check for and repair all water leaks as they occur.
• Replace brass or plastic nozzles, which erode more quickly, with stainless steel or hard ceramic nozzles.
• Route reclaim water, or RO reject water to landscaping (be sure plants can tolerate first!).
• Use “water friendly” plants in the landscape.
• Time arches precisely in the conveyor to come on as car arrives and shut off as car moves out from under arches.
• Adjust weep systems to come on at 320 F.
• Install positive shut off valves in extractor sinks.
• Create a dwell time for water to run off the vehicle into the reclaim pit before vehicle can exit the bay.
• Install automatic high-level water cut-offs in all towel and chamois washing machines.
• Use less water in towel washing machines by doing fewer but fuller loads.
• Maintain all water using devices to original or improved specifications for the conservation of water.
• Replace all spray nozzles utilized at the vehicle wash regularly to assure maximum efficiency of water used.
• Utilize ultra-low flush toilets at the vehicle wash facility.
• Use positive shut off valves on all hoses or faucets.

Carwashes are so important even Jim Croce wrote a song about it!


Check out a new carwashing technique that reduces water use!

Field trip: Biosphere2

I moved to Tucson, Ariz. three and a half years ago to study at the University of Arizona. Upon arriving, I made a list of all the things I wanted to do before graduation. It was a great way to learn about my new community and all the neat things close by. Well, this past weekend I saw something that was not on my list but definitely should have been. I went to Biosphere2.

Funded by Texas billionaire Edward Bass in the late 1980’s, the biosphere2 attempted to create a closed biosphere in space. The biosphere2 was created with the hopes of producing important research about how to create a sustainable environment on other planets. The size of two and a half football fields in the middle of the desert, the biosphere2 is basically a huge test tube. The glass structure is sealed off to the outside world. It uses trees, animals, human researchers (biospherians), etc to create a miniature biosphere within Earth’s biosphere. The structure produces its own air, recycles its water and can grow food. Despite it’s sheer size and $150-$200 million in investments, the biosphere2 has yet to produce any notable research. Oh well, walking through the Brazilian rainforest in the middle of the Sonoran Desert was enough to impress me.

But, what does this have to do with sustainability or “green issues?” Well, that billionaire Edward Bass recently sold the biosphere2 and the 1600 acres it sits on to a development company under the agreement that the University of Arizona can manage it for the next two years. The UA has to pay $100 per year to lease the property! Anyway, after two missions that yielded very little in the way of actually research Edward Bass let Columbia University in New York City manage the site. Well, Columbia wanted out of the experiment early and also failed to establish the biosphere2 as a legitimate research institution. So, perhaps the third time is a charm. With the UA taking the reigns and managing the biosphere2 signs of research are already underweight.

So, with a turbulent past filled with unsuccessful research, is the biosphere a total failure? I don’t think so. During the tour the guide shot statistic after statistic at our group. The biosphere2 trucked in 250,000 gallons of ocean water into the facility for the ocean habitat. At the end of the two year research mission where eight researchers lived in the closed structure for two years and 20 minutes, all 250,000 gallons remained in the closed structure.

This made me wonder. If eight people could live in just over three acres for over two years on only what was available in the structure itself…well, that would make them entirely self-sustainable right? They were able to use plants to create the oxygen needed to breathe, sunlight to feed plants, soil to nurture their crops for over two years! They recycled everything! My trip to the biosphere served to be more than a history lesson of the failed experiments and wasted money, it taught me about true sustainability and how it is actually possible!

Ski Sustainably

Telluride, Colorado is known for its pristine snow and expensive mountain getaways and happens to be the focus of this week’s blog. Inspired by a family ski trip I had the privilege of taking this past week, I decided to learn about how the popular Rocky Mountain ski resort handles environmental issues. Well it just so happens that Telluride is leading the pack.

After lugging my bag up three flights of stairs I sat down to catch my breath and snuggled up with a trail map in search of the best runs on the mountain. On the very first page of the trail map in the upper left hand corner, the Telluride Ski & Golf Resort couldn’t wait to tell me about “Sustainability.” Although 'sustainability' is typically a word I loathe, I read on for the sake of education. According to the trail map and the squeaky clean town, the entire community has come together to “meet common conservation goals.” So, at first this seems a little vague with a public relations spin. But, as it turns out, Telluride is actually concerned with maintaining an environmentally friendly ski resort.

The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village are divided by the mountainous terrain that is home to the ski resort, but despite the ‘rocky' inconvenience maintain a fabulous public transportation system. It’s a gondola, also known as a glorified ski lift enclosed by glass. The gondola takes visitors and locals soaring above cabins directly to the grocery store or straight over the mountain to the Town of Telluride.

Lift four, one of Telluride’s most popular lifts, has a sponsor that is helping to alleviate the damage being done to the environment from running the chair lift day after day. Cliff Bar purchased enough renewable energy

offsets equivalent to the annual electricity use for chair lift four. They proudly boast this environmentally friendly deed on every chair on lift four. In addition, on each pole skiers and snowboarders pass on the way up the lift there is more information about the amount of energy that is saved through the Cliff Bar sponsorship. Check it out!

Telluride Ski & Golf has won:
-National Ski Areas Association 2002 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence
-2006 Silver Eagle Award for Fish and Wildlife Habitat Protection
-2002 Regional Forester’s Honor Award for Land Stewardship

Watcha doin in the desert?

This weekend I went camping with friends in the desert just outside Phoenix, AZ. The trip was inspired by the drunken idea that it would “be cool” to scuba dive for treasure at the bottom of Saguaro Lake. The brown murky lake is home to Phoenicians with boats in tow in pursuit of fun on the water. Needless to say, not a premiere scuba diving location, but we loaded up all of our gear and piled into the car and headed for Mother Nature’s desert oasis in search of some fresh air and treasure. The eight of us filled our tanks at least three times, fired over 150 bullets and managed to produce four large bags of trash over the course of two days. It’s odd that it takes so much stuff to live off the land. I decided to look into this a little more.

The desert attracts tourists paying high prices for a quick hummer tour up steep hill climbs, thrill seeking four-wheelers and avid ATV riders zipping around hair pin turns in desert washes. They all leave something behind because the desert is littered with trash. Whether it be a crevasse with metal bullet casing strewn about or an old campsite with plastic baggies and old beer bottles. Illegal immigrants often times take most of the blame for deserts filled with trash but even in a desert more than 150 miles north of the border, passersby will find a trashy desert. This high traffic desert playground is losing its luster. But, there are some people trying to do something about it, unfortunately it's just not enough.

Arizona Clean and Beautiful is a non-profit, volunteer driven organization that works to clean up Arizona. They do this not only by cleaning the littered deserts, but also through research and education. In the past the group has organized events to pick up trash in Arizona. They cleaned an area close to Saguaro Lake where 436 volunteers showed up to clean littered with diapers, old bath tubs, plastic bags and glass bottles. They collected 21 tons of litter in one day! You can help too…

-volunteer
-report litterbugs: 1-877-3-litter (Greater Arizona) 602-712-4683 (Metro Phoenix Area)
-clean-up after yourself
-leave your campsite cleaner than when you found it



In addition to volunteer groups cleaning the area, the Tonto National Forest also offers volunteer opportunities for anyone interested in helping. Regardless of who is doing the littering, there are people willing to help fix the problem.

Environmental Conference about the consumer

A few weeks ago I attended the EUEC (energy and environment conference) right here in Tucson. As a first time “green” reporter I wanted to learn more about current environmental issues and thought the conference would be just the place to go. In addition to various sessions and speakers, companies are invited by the conference to host booths in a large ballroom. This is where I went. I wandered from booth to booth asking representatives from companies around the world what can be done help reduce carbon emissions.

Here is what leaders in the field said consumers should do:

1) change old light bulbs to new compact fluorescent light bulbs (GAI)
-energy savings of approx $600 million per year (Energy Star)

2) change energy habits (GAI)
-reduce, reuse, recycle

3) hybrid electric vehicles (epri)
-they use less energy than gas powered cars. Learn how it works.

4) turn off appliances (epri)
-even when appliances are turned off are using energy. Learn how.

5) Use more efficient toilets, sinks and low flow shower heads.
-showers, toilets and running sinks use a lot of our water supply. Learn more.

6) Replace your old fridge with a new one
-Fridges are energy drains...especially living in the desert where they have to work a little harder most of the time. Replacing your old fridge with a new more energy efficient one could save you big bucks...learn more.

7) Look into solar energy
-the energy saving potential is huge here in Arizona if we could only harvest the sun that beats down on us more than 300 days per year. learn what is going on in Arizona.

8) Investigate the companies you buy from
-make sure you arn't buying products made by companies that pollute.

Ok, so these recommendations are great and may help reduce a few carbon footprints. But, I couldn’t help but look at the larger picture. So what if I change one light bulb in my house, or shorten my shower by 5 minutes. I am sure there are other companies out there being wasteful and eating up all of my carbon reduction with their over emission. But then I realized this blog is not about what consumers can do…it’s about what government and small business are doing/should be doing to go green.

After perusing the ballroom at the Westin filled with large corporations plugging their green products and saying that the key lies in the hands of the consumer, I was left unconvinced. I have always thought that while; yes “the people” have the biggest say in whatever happens in a democracy…I was not convinced that the key to reducing carbon emissions was really the responsibility of the consumer.

I attended a session where Jacquelyn Jackson, one of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s representatives, about a solar power initiative in Arizona. As I sat in on the session I began to feel better about my cynicism. As it turns out Arizona has an enormous amount of sunshine every year, something you will never have to remind an Arizonan of, and the potential to produce OVER 150% of the state’s energy demand with solar energy, according to Jackson. Sadly…less than 1% of our energy today comes from solar power!

Giffords is currently lobbying for a bill that would “safeguard vital individual and commercial tax incentives for installing solar energy systems.” Now doesn’t it make more sense for politicians to rally for new, environmentally friendly ways to reduce carbon emissions rather than have millions of consumers rushing to the market to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs? Well, that would just mean all those old light bulbs are headed straight for the local landfill. It seems entirely counterproductive to have consumers replace all of these old technologies, filling the landfills with old products and eating up energy to create new products.

Big Event: Big Trash

As consumers become increasingly environmentally conscious and make larger efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, businesses are trying to keep up with the demand for green products. Many companies sell products such as low energy appliances and fluorescent light bulbs. But, what are companies doing to go green themselves? According to Solar Energy International, a non-profit organization encouraging renewable resources, “The United States spends about $440 billion annually for energy. Energy costs U.S. consumers $200 billion and U.S. manufacturers $100 billion annually.” So, consumers are a large part of the problem and also a large part of the solution…however, a large portion lies in the hands of manufacturers.

This weekend I was in Phoenix to work the FBR open. The weather was perfect and everyone was having a great time. After my day of work was over and the crowds had cleared, I began my trek back to my car. The entire golf course was a disaster. Beer cans, plastic cups, napkins and bags littered the entire area. I began thinking about all of the items that could be recycled out of this mess. The next day I went on a mission to learn more.

I spoke with Buck Munson, the manager at Greenskeeper, one of the bars located near the 18th hole. The crowd of nearly 8,000 over the course of the five day golf tournament consumed 1,440 bottles of Smirnoff Vodka, 9,600 cans of Red Bull and 27,900 cans of beer, said Munson, standing in the metal storage unit behind the bar stocked with alcohol and various mixers on the last day of the FBR Open. Keep in mind this is just ONE of the many bars that are part of the Open, said Munson.

Michael Pycik, a chef at Michael’s Catering responsible for feeding the crowds said that, on a daily basis, the kitchen at the Greenskeeper uses:
-500 lbs lettuce
-500 lbs eggs
-700 lbs bacon/sausage
-300 lbs potatoes
-1,000 pieces of French toast
-100 cakes and pies
Again, this is just one of many bars and food outlets!

All you have to do is look around at the FBR Open to see that despite having recycling areas, people are not recycling. Why? “It’s too much overhead work period,” said Andy Hall, an investor and part owner of Michael’s Catering. “Sure [the companies] think it’s a good cause but there is no incentive for them to recycle.” Other states like Massachusetts have government sponsored programs that pay people for recycling. “You actually see people picking up plastic bottles and other recyclables in Massachusetts,” said Hall. Programs like the one in Massachusetts will open up a new industry as well as encourage other companies to start recycling, said Hall.

“The bartenders say it’s too much work to separate recyclables,” said Don Brott, a Waste Management employee who worked at the Open this year collecting trash. “It’s like a Chinese puzzle trying to sort this stuff,” said Brott.

This is the first year that the FRB Open has provided recycling cans for the event.

Green heard around the world

My name is Catherine O’Connor. I am a senior at the University of Arizona studying Journalism and Communication. I recently signed on as assistant editor in chief for The Cat Scan, an online eco-magazine that covers “green” issues. During my first meeting with the other editors of the publication I realized I may have bit off more than I can chew when I asked, “what does ‘green’ actually mean?” The other editors threw out ideas including “green eating,” choosing organic foods that produce little waste as a result of excess packaging, to “wasteful energy practices,” leaving lights on at sports facilities or using the TV for background noise. I agreed, these are all topics that the American public can learn more about to make small changes in the right direction. But I left that meeting thinking about the bigger picture. Is the smart shopper who chooses the organic foods with less packaging going to make the difference? I had some thinking to do.

As I pondered “green” ideas for my semester of eco-blogging my mind wandered from the task at hand and began to think about the fabulous semester I spent abroad. While I was day dreaming I thought about my time in Buenos Aires, Argentina and how they think of green issues. I realized that the Argentine culture is fundamentally different than the American culture. Trains, busses and subways are the chosen modes of transportation for the majority of the population. People dig through trash searching for recyclables that can be traded in for cash. Nothing goes to waste, the plates are tiny, the coffee cups are “chiquitito,” and SUV’s are virtually non-existent, yet the “nice air” that the city’s name implies is also virtually non-existent. The murky water bordering the north side of the city is so contaminated Argentines joke that anyone who swims in the water will grow a third eyeball. So, if the Argentine and American cultures are so different, if we value different things why are we both having similar problems?

So, through this day dream I determined what it was that I wanted to write about. I personally believe in the power of a well run democracy. Through legislation and changes implemented by government bigger steps in the direction towards a more “green” nation and world will be made. So, with that I decided what I wanted to blog about. This semester I will be discussing what businesses and primarily government is doing and can be doing to move our city, our nation and even our world in a more environmentally conscious direction.

Check out some of these links to learn more about green issues and what’s to come.

-White House Energy Information

-White House Environment Information

-Earth Policy Institute