The Impact of the Bovine Industry -- Part 1

You may be wondering what Bovine is? Bovine is leather that is made from cow hide. Cows are the largest population and easiest to maintain source animals, making them the most abundant and common leather source. Cowhide, although being one of the heaviest and toughest leathers, is the most inexpensive due to its high availability and resistance to dirt and water. 65% of all leather products produced around the world are made from Bovine but how does it get made and at what costs (not talking financially here) (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008)? In this mini-series we will be following the production of Bovine leather from cow to the making of a Coach purse through the eyes of the virtual water and chemicals used in the process. By the end, we will have gained a vast amount of knowledge of where some of our favorite accessories come from and what we can do to help mitigate the environmental impact.

                Hide is a byproduct of the food production from the source animal, in this case a cow or calf. Let us first look at what it takes to raise this cow to get it to the proper age and weight to begin this process. It takes three years for a cow to grow to the proper size and weight before it can be slaughtered, this is where we get the hide from. Over the course of these three years the cow will consume roughly 1,300 kilograms of grains (wheat, oats, barley or corn) and 7,200 kilograms of roughages (pasture, dry hay or silage). The production of all these grains and roughages requires roughly 3,060,000 liters of water. The cow will drink almost 24,000 liters of water as well. Finally, approximately 7,000 liters of water will be used in servicing the farmhouse and for the slaughtering process. So far this is a total of 3,091,000 liters of water to produce roughly 537 kg cow itself or about 7,756 liters per kilogram (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008). This is where the tradeoff of the weight of the hide in proportion to the weight of the cow comes in.

The amount of “green”, unprocessed, hide that comes from a cow is roughly 10% of the weight of the cow itself (Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2008). Let us use the weight of the example cow above to figure out how much green hide will come from this cow.

(537 kg)/cow  × .10=53.7  kg⁄cow

                53.7 kg of green hide comes from our example cow. Tune in next time to learn how leather is tanned and the harm that can occur to the environment from this process.

Sources Used:

Hoekstra, A. Y., & Chapagain, A. K. (2008). Globalization of Water: Sharing the Planet's Freshwater Resources. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Positive and Negative Impacts of Depaving in Relation to Landscaping

Some of the benefits of depaving parking lots or your any given empty lot is that it provides access for run-off water to penetrate into the earth's soil. Rainwater carries pollutants such as oil, antifreeze, plastics, pesticides, and heavy metals from the roads into local streams and rivers, devastating riparian habitat and polluting local waterways. In places such as Portland Oregon, which uses combined sewer overflows, the high volume of stormwater runoff forces untreated sewage into the rivers. 
Moreover, pavement is known for trapping heat, which is commonly known as "heat island effect". Incorporating urban vegetation can be beneficial in the long run as it provides:

• Cooling of homes and offices by shading the sun's rays and the protection against harsh winds
• Ambient cooling from evapotranspiration of rain on the leaves
• Aesthetic enhancement to areas to psychosocial benefits associated with greenery
• Enhancing air quality by removing particulate pollutants and carbon dioxide from the air while producing oxygen
• Visual privacy and reduction of noise from the street
• Traffic calming when trees are planted along urban streets
• Restoration of local habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife
• And if the previously-paved land is used for farming, this provides food and nutrition for local residents 

Link: http://depave.org/learn/why-depave/

Another alternative to using vegetation when Depaving is to incorporate artificial turf. Depending on the type of synthetic turf used, generally the following pros for using artificial turf are: 

• Lower maintenance cost
• Pesticide-free
• Increased playability
• Fewer Injuries
• Fewer Injuries
• Saves Water

Cons:

• Heat Hazard
• Lead
• Zinc Hazard
• Other harmful chemicals
• Toxic run-off
• Increased MRSA risk
• Bacterial breeding ground
• Adverse affect on asthmatics
• Once artificial, always artificial

Link for more details of pros and cons: http://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/turf-wars-pros-and-cons-of-artificial-turf

 

WaterWise Gardening

Oregon State University Extension Service offers several educational outreach programs to local communities in the state of Oregon. Part of the extension programs mission is to share research-based knowledge with individuals to improve the quality of their lives. They create partnerships with businesses, youth, foresters and community leaders. One of their many great programs is to help homeowners create water efficient gardens. 

WaterWise Gardening utilizes plants that thrive on little to no water in a landscape, saving our natural resources and saving you money by reducing the costs associated with watering requirements. The WaterWise Gardening page has many resources where you will find water-efficient garden design techniques, lists of WaterWise plants and everything you need to get started gardening wiser. These effcient plants can save you gallons of water every year! Click here to read how. 

How much is too much?

When we think of replacing our natural lawns with artificial lawns and grasses such as turf, we don't realize how much turf grass can hurt us as well as the wildlife. It seems that we've become obsessed with this idea that my grass must be greener than my neighbors. This competitive mentality quickly spreads from one person to the next, and soon, the entire neighborhood has artificial lawns. And it's not even residential areas that this is happening to. We see it every weekend in the fall when our favorite football team hits the gridiron. You ever hear the expression, "The grass is always greener on the other side." What they don't realize is how much impact that greener grass is costing us in the long run.

After looking around online for some articles, I ran across THIS ONE from the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In it, they discuss the impact that turf lawns have on wildlife, water consumption, and maintenance costs. But, what really stood out to me was the sheer amount of turf lawns in the United States alone. Roughly 62,500 square miles of ground is covered by turf, which is 31 times the size of Delaware! People don't seem to realize how much turf and artificial lawns have taken over our own natural earth just here in our own backyards.

Please take a second out of your day to take this short survey about yardcare. You might find out something about yourself or your yard that you did not previously know.

How Plastic Microbeads Are Causing Big Problems

Lush Cosmetics is a company which is devoted to creating vegetarian, eco-friendly, and sustainable beauty products for men and women. Not long ago, Lush released an informative video about Microbeads and how we can help prevent the further production of the nasty Micro-plastic which can be found in our toothpaste, facial cleansers and home care supplies.

  If you believe in saving our oceanic wildlife sign the petition to eliminate plastic microbeads in our waters!

Sources

http://www.lushusa.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bic7QEVRNe4
http://www.5gyres.org/

Do you pee in the shower? You are saving the planet!

Peeing in the shower, some of us do it, some of us think it is gross. I am going to show you why peeing in the shower could help save the planet, and hope you learn to see some situations in life for more than face value. There are so many things that all of us can do to help mitigate the effects of climate change. There is a lot of great suggestions regarding how each individual can pitch in to reduce our impact on the planet:

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/

http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/gsteps.asp

http://ncse.com/climate/climate-change-101/what-can-we-do

For some it can seem daunting; many of us are overwhelmed by the vast amount of information out there, and all the perceived steps required of us in order to make a difference. When presented with the effort required in order to minimize the effects of climate change, one can feel burdened and afraid that they are not able to drastically change their lifestyle. But let me remind you of the power of aggregate effort. If we all make at least a little effort, the additive effect will be great. Consider a penny, it doesn’t seem like much money; if every United States citizen added a penny to a pot of money, that would be equivalent to over three million dollars! So I hope you realize that a little effort can make a big difference. There are numerous ways to help mitigate the effects of climate change without having to completely change your lifestyle:

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/StopGlobalWarming.php

http://life.gaiam.com/article/climate-change-25-things-you-can-do

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/simple-ways-stop-global-warming-78815.html

One simple way to minimize your impact on the climate and save money and time, all from the comfort of your home is to change the way you use water. Increased water usage means higher water bills, heating bills, carbon emissions associated with warming and transporting the water, and a worsened drought that many areas are currently experiencing. There are copious actions that will reduce water usage; the one that I hope gets you interested is peeing in the shower.

The next time someone berates you for peeing in the shower like George Costanza, you can refute his or her claims with your own - you are saving the planet. In 2014 the University of the UK started a campaign, urging the students to urinate while they shower. They determined that if a household urinated in the shower rather than flushing the toilet one extra time a day, they would save 1,157 gallons of water a year. If you were worried about hygiene, the university released with the campaign a list of literature that suggest there is no hygiene issue pertaining to urinating in the shower. Not only will you help save the planet, you will help your wallet with les water usage. So the next time you shower, remember the peeing can help prevent the plight of the planet.

In addition the above suggestion, there are many other small ways to reduce water usage and save money - including but not limited to:

-Reduce the amount of time you are in the shower

-Turn off the shower as you wash up and turn it back on to rinse off

-Get low flow showerheads and toilets

-Use rainwater-collecting containers for watering gardens

-Don’t leave the water running while washing dishes

-Use yard landscaping that requires less water

-Use your washing machine on the cold setting

Staying Green on the Road

     For many of us, summer brings along a number of activities that take us away from the routine of every day life.  From barbecues, picnics, camping, and more notably: vacations!  Whether it's a quick getaway or a week long excursion to the coast, we finally have the opportunity to enjoy the sun and relax a bit.  While some have a place they often retreat to such as a beach house or a rental, many will stay in hotels while they are away.  It can be easy to forget all about those wonderful "green" habits we practice at home, so here is a quick guide on what some major hotel chains are doing to ensure your stay is as eco-friendly as possible.

Everyone Taking Small Steps Can Lead to Big Changes

Climate change is a big problem, perhaps one of the most severe the world has yet faced. It effects us all, and progress can be frustrating when political leaders do not lead in this area. Fortunately, we do not have to wait to make small changes in our lives that make a big impact on the planet, and author Elizabeth Rogers has compiled that list in The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time.

This book contains hundreds of small steps any individual can take right now to reduce their impact on the environment and slow degradation. Some examples are:

----->"Don’t ask for ATM receipts. If everyone in the United States refused their receipts, it would save a roll of paper more than two billion feet long, or enough to circle the equator fifteen times!
-----> Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. You’ll conserve up to five gallons of water per day. Throughout the entire United States, the daily savings could add up to more water than is consumed every day in all of New York City.
-----> Get a voice-mail service for your home phone. If all answering machines in U.S. homes were replaced by voice-mail services, the annual energy savings would total nearly two billion kilowatt hours. The resulting reduction in air pollution would be equivalent to removing 250,000 cars from the road for a year!"

These are all very simple steps that do not require more work. In fact, many of these ideas save ourselves time and money, and reduce resource consumption. It's a win-win! 

Please check The Green Book out at the library or buy it from Amazon for $0.01. The everyday tips, if done in aggregate, can lead to changes of a global proportion.

Save the Planet by Copying These Celebrities

Celebrities have always been trend-setters. While not everyone agrees on environmental issues, we can all agree that we should all copy celebrities as much as we can in our daily lives. For ages, people have taken cues from celebrities when it comes to all kinds of things like fashion, pets, vacation destinations, etc. Now with the rise of environmental awareness in recent years, we now have the benefit of hearing about how we can be more environmentally friendly by following the cues and tips of Hollywood's elite...

Last year's "It-Girl" Shailene Woodley makes her own cheese, toothpaste, body lotions, face oils, medicine, and gets all of her water from fresh mountain springs every month. No word on how much energy is spent on each of those mountain excursions.

You can cut down on your water consumption by showering with a "friend" like Grammy Award-winning rapper and Fast & Furious supporting player, Ludacris.

Former Victoria Secret model and current professional narcissist Tyra Banks contributed to a book full of everyday environmental tips, The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet, along with a slew of other self-important celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Aniston, and Tiki Barber (which certainly dates the book since it's been a while since he was relevant), among others.

Cate Blanchett controversially appeared in a commercial in her native Australia (free of charge) actually promoting a carbon tax to help cut down the use of polluting fossil fuels.

Aside from being one of the greatest human beings ever (for punching Justin Bieber), Orlando Bloom also founded the Global Cool Foundation (globalcoolfoundation.org), a non-profit whose goal is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, utilizing educational initiatives to reduce overall energy use.

If you have the finances to do so, you could be like Leonardo DiCaprio and drive super expensive electric cars. In between bedding the entire Victoria's Secret catalog and getting snubbed repeatedly at the Academy Awards, he also found time to produce and narrate the 2007 documentary The 11th Hour, which proposes potential solutions to many of the environmental issues facing the planet (like climate change, deforestation, mass species extinction, etc.).

Those are just a few of the celebrities you can try to emulate and model your life on. Or you could always just do your own thing...