Water Consumption

I was doing a little exploring on innovation ideas for another marketing class of mine and I came across this video, which I thought would be fun to share. This idea was the winning entry in the "Innovate or Die" contest put on by Google and Specialized. The concept of this challenge was to build a pedal powered machine that has environmental impact. 



When watching this video, it made me realize how much I take our clean water for granted. We are so fortunate to have water so easily accessible, which many areas around the world don't have. 

In my Ecological Footprint I mentioned I wanted to reduce the amount of water I use but didn't state specific details of how I'm going to do so. Here are a couple of specific ideas on how I want to reduce my water consumption:

• When washing dishes, instead of letting the water run while rinsing, I'm going to fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water. 
• Always turn off the bathroom faucet when brushing my teeth.
• I'm only going to start the washing machine when there is a full load of laundry in.
• Reduce my showers by 3 mins.

Product Toxicity

Written Assignment: 2

I decided to research Jergens Natural Glow & Protect Daily Moisturizer because I use this product almost everyday and interested to know what I'm really putting on my face. From the packaging, the ingredients are as follows:

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 6%, Oxybenzone (2%)Inactive Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Dihydroxyacetone, Cetyl Alcohol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenyl Trimethicone, C12 15 Alkyl Benzoate, Isopropyl Isostearate, Polyacrylamide, Behenyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Fragrance, PEG 100 Stearate, Erythrulose, C13 14 Isoparaffin, Steareth 2, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Xanthan Gum, Laureth 7, Citric Acid, Caramel, Tocopheryl Acetate

It's not a good sign when I can't pronounce most of these words... but I looked up this product on the Environmental Working Group's online database to see to how hazardous these ingredients are. Below is the product summary from my findings. 

Out of the 1-10 hazard scale, this product scores a 6 and labeled as moderately hazardous overall. It's not a comforting feeling knowing that this product, that I so frequently put directly on my skin and face, has a high allergy and immunotoxicity concern. 

There were a handful of ingredients found in Jergens Natural Glow and Protect Daily Moisturizer on the toxicity lists found in the Okala Ecological Design guide, but I decided to focus my research on OXYBENZONE because of it's high hazard rating. Oxybenzone is classified as a "chemical" sunscreen agent that absorbs through the skin in significant amounts. Despite its sun protective abilities, it has been shown to penetrate the skin and cause photo-sensitivity. I was shocked to have learned that because this chemical has the ability to attack DNA cells, it is believed to be a contributing factor in the recent rise of Melanoma cases with sunscreen users.

Although I was very fond of this product and have been using this moisturizer for a couple years now, it may be time to make a change. It's going to be difficult to cut this product out of my daily routine during this dry season but I'm sure I can find a similar, less harmful product that will suffice and be better for my skin overall. 

My Ecological Footprint

I always thought I lived a pretty efficient lifestyle but I was shocked by how many Planet Earths I use living the way I have been living. The "Services" category is nearly half of my footprint, with "Food" and "Goods" following close behind. I brainstormed some simple tasks I can do daily to reduce my footprint and actions I can take to change my lifestyle to become more "green". 

• First, I want to reduce the amount of energy I use by turning down the heat at night during the winter and making sure I unplug my electronic devices when they are not in use. 
• I also want to reduce the amount of water I use. I find myself forgetting that water is a finite resource and that I often take it for granted. 
• Another goal I have is to limit the number of times I dine out and substitute packaged food with more organic produce.