Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Introduction

When it comes to vehicle emissions, a countless number of studies show the relationship between these harmful emissions and chronic diseases such as lung cancer or heart disease.  In the article entitled "Unsafe Air" written in 2005 and published in the Journal of College Science Teaching, researchers found a direct correlation between tailpipe emissions and overall mortality rates in certain communities.  The also stated that even though there has been more restriction on tailpipe emissions, more people are driving farther and the health risks are only increasing from poor air quality.

One of the Healthy People 2010 goals was to "Improve the Nation's air quality by increasing the use of cleaner alternative fuels."  By using cleaner alternative fuels, we can significantly reduce the amount of pollutants in the air and thus increase the Nation's air quality.  The bill related to this issue is S.1408 New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions.  This bill aims to increase the amount of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicle use.


Who is affected by the issue?

Those who are affected the most by this issue are people who live in communities or neighborhoods with heavy traffic flow.  These people are greatly impacted because they are constantly exposed to toxic emissions and thus at a greater risk of obtaining health problems.  If this bill were to pass, these people would benefit because air quality would improve.  Those on the losing end would be the fuel companies and car manufacturers that do not set alternative fuel standards.  If this bill passed, they would either lose business, or have to spend money to find new ways to provide cleaner alternative fuels and cars that run on them.

What are the consequences of the issue?

The biggest consequence of this issue involves the people who are exposed to large amounts of tailpipe emissions everyday.  These individuals and communities are exposed to harmful emissions and are at a severe risk for chronic diseases.  In the article, "Unsafe Air," the research found that health effects caused by pollution are two to three times more than originally believed.  They stated that for only 10 micro-grams per cubic meter increase in air pollution, health risks increased by 25-39%.  People's families are also greatly impacted because they have to deal with not only the costs of health care for their loved ones, but also the stress and grief of caring for someone with a chronic disease.  Without the implementation of cleaner alternative fuels, early death rates will continue to rise in our society.


What is the economic impact of the issue?

The economic costs of this issue include the costs of researching, manufacturing, and using cleaner alternative fuels.  However, they also include the costs of medical care for individuals who are suffering from chronic diseases at younger and younger ages.  As earlier death rates increase, so do the medical costs that are associated.

The main cost however, involves the production of cleaner burning gases and cars.  Most manufacturers already have cars that run and cars that people will buy, so it would cost money to research how to make cars that run on these fuels and how to make fuels that run in their cars.  This might be a financial hit to most companies at first, but in the long term it might bring a financial gain.  Being hard to predict, it is easy to see why people are hesitant to pass bills on cleaner alternative fuels.  If we had more use of alternative fuels, combined with alternative modes of transportation, the economic costs would increase in the short term but it would essentially benefit society and our economy in the long term.


What is the social impact of the issue?

Socially, we all bear the costs of this issue.  Even if we are not directly impacted by large amount of air pollution in our lives, we all live in this country and have to deal with the individuals who do become ill do to air pollution.  If people are ill, it creates less productivity at work, an increased turnaround of employees, and increased health care costs.  We can all benefit socially if we learn how to cut back our own emissions and realize the roll of cleaner alternative fuels in this reduction.  Essentially, we want to increase the quality of life for everyone, so this would help to do just that.

What are the barriers?

Some of the barriers include the economic costs of the issue.  More specifically, there is not a great deal of technology out there yet to mass produce cleaner alternative fuels.  We also cannot just pump this stuff into all of our vehicles and call it a day.  We have to use vehicles that can support alternative forms of fuel and that is a huge change and expense for most people.  Nationally, we also have to think about building pipelines and transporting these fuels.  All of these are barriers to the use and production of cleaner burning fuels.  In order to overcome these barriers, we need to advocate for the health of individuals and show how making this change will have many benefits.  It is necessary to show not only how vehicle emissions effect the health of individuals, but how they contribute to global warming, and how the economy can benefit from making the transition.  In using our voices, we can overcome these barriers.

What are the resources?

Some resources include government grants for research and production of the fuels.  Vehicle manufacturers such as Ford and Chrysler are producing "flex fuel" cars which can support alternative fuels.  With the use of their technology, the market could be expanded.  The research is out there, it is just finding the resources to further the research and implement it in our communities.  We can also turn to our political representatives and urge them to take notice of the issue and vote for cleaner alternative fuels.  We need to look to ourselves as individuals and find out how we can cut back our own emissions.  For some, it might be as simple as riding the bus or riding a bike.  For others, it might include investing in a hybrid vehicle that runs on cleaner burning fuels that produce less emissions.  Companies and manufacturers can also do their part by searching and applying for grants to further their research and increase production.

What is the history of the issue?

Although it seems that cleaner alternative fuels are an emerging issue, alternative forms of fuel have been around for quite some time.  In earlier times, wood was a main source for heating and cooking.  Then, coal became the alternative fuel.  This was a great way to cut back on deforestation and was even better for the environment.  So now, here we are with another example, and yet, it is much more complicated.  Overt time, the goal has been to move toward renewable resources and reduce harmful emissions.  With increased research about the potential risks of these emissions, more and more companies decided to start looking for ways to reduce automobile emissions.  From these breakthroughs came the invention of hybrid and battery-powered cars.  We also now have emission standards in the U.S. which are monitored by the EPA.  These standards must be met by all new vehicles.  All of that being said, there is still work to do.  The biggest obstacle for the future is making these vehicles and fuels more mainstream and marketable.  We need to be able to make a profit on a much larger scale in order for this to be realistic.

In 2007, it was a National goal for us to produce 36 billion gallons of ethanol and advanced fuels per year by 2022.  From this goal, we increased our production.  As a nation, we currently produce 12 billion gallons and are struggling to triple this number.  In February of 2010, Obama urged that we increase our production of cleaner burning fuels as we are still in pursuit of this goal.  He plans to expand our energy sources.  If we were able to reach the 36 billion gallons per year, the EPA says that we would reduce the use of conventional oil by 328 million barrels per year.


Allies & Opponents:

Those in support of this would be people who have been effected by air pollution or who have loved ones who have taken ill due in part to emissions.  Others in support may include those who are concerned about global warming as emissions also contribute to climate change.  Farmers, ranchers, and foresters would also support this because it would allow them to convert waste products into fuel and would create more jobs.

Those who would oppose this issue would be oil companies and politicians who are backed by these oil companies.  Conventional oil use would drop and that would be a huge hit to the companies.  This would force politicians to vote against the use of cleaner alternative fuels because they might lose some of their support.

In order to have allies and opponents join forces to tackle this issue, it would be important to show how even the oil companies could benefit.  If we were able to produce more fuels on our own soil, we would not have to drill oil in other countries which would save a lot of money in transportation alone.  It would be wise to show that the people who work at the oil companies would also be negatively effected by emissions and show them realistic ways to produce better fuels.  This might help ease more people into the idea of cleaner burning fuels and vehicles.

My Recommendation:

Vote YES! for the use of alternative fuels and transportation.


Some links for more information...

Pros and Cons
MN Incentives and Laws for Natural Gas
Unsafe Air

Share & Voice: UMD Great American Smoke Out

Breathe Free Canvas...Show your support!

This past Thursday, the Great American Smoke Out was held in the Rafters at UMD.  This event was put on by the American Lung Association, UMD Health Services, and the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC).  The theme this year was a break room and we encouraged all students to attend the event.  There were many games, a movie, fun activities, and more for all who attended.  For those students who brought in a pack of cigarettes, they received a free Subway turkey sub for "quitting cold turkey."

We had a great turnout this year and encouraged all students that attended to sign the Breathe Free Canvas to show their support for UMD's smoke free policy.  There were also a few booths set up with some fun activities.  Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) had a table where students could come and jump rope for one minute.  Once the minute was over, they had to breathe through a straw as they recovered to show the effects of smoking.  SHAC had a table set up where students could come spin the wheel.  All of the colors on the wheel corresponded to frequently asked questions about UMD's breathe free policy.   There was also information about cessation services for those who were considering quitting or are in the process.  

Overall, the event had a great turnout of students including those who smoke and those who do not.  I want to thank everyone from ESG and SHAC who came to help and all of you who signed the canvas.  A HUGE thanks goes out to Kristy Seaver for making it all happen.  

Enjoy a few photos of the event...

Eta Sigma Gamma table

Students showing their support by the canvas.

Signing the canvas

Jump rope activity

Breathing through the straw

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

My SMART goal :
       I will ride the bus to and from school 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) each week.

The Wheels on the Bus go 'Round and 'Round...

I actually ended up doing pretty well in my lifestyle change.  Last week, I rode the bus on Wednesday and Thursday both to and from school.  This week, I took the bus to school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  However, the way back was interesting.  On Monday, I did ride the DTA bus back to my apartment.  On Tuesday, I ended up getting a ride home from a friend because I was too impatient to wait 40 minutes for the bus.  Today, I ended up taking the Boulder Ridge Shuttle back to my apartment which in my mind still counts.  Right?  The shuttle is basically like a bus, but it is only for residents of Boulder Ridge/Campus Park.

Challenges and Successes 

My main challenge in obtaining my goal was figuring out the schedule of the buses, and then making it to the bus stop on time.  I seemed to have no trouble in the morning, but at the end of my school day, I did not always have time to sprint to the Kirby Bus Hub.  One strategy that was helpful in my process was meeting other people who ride the bus and talking to them about what they like about it and how early you should get to the bus stop after class.  Most UMD students told me that it was a sprint most days, but it was definitely worth it.  I also found that by printing off the schedule, I felt more control over the timing of everything.

Another challenge that I mentioned earlier was my patience.  Sometimes, I need to talk to my professors after class or stop by someone's office, so I am unable to catch the hourly bus.  This means that I would have to wait almost another hour before hopping on the next bus.  I decided to bring something with me to read in case situations like that come up, or just do my homework at the Food Court for a while.  This is fine on most days, unless I have to work at night.

Let's Talk About Feelings

I generally had positive feelings about the whole process.  What better time to start riding the bus than in the winter?  I got almost a sick pleasure watching other residents of my apartment freeze in frustration as they scraped their cars in the mornings.  I LOVE that I can just walk outside and hop on the nice, warm bus.  I did get a little anxious when it came time to catch the bus at the end of the day, but it all seemed to work out.  As I become more familiar with the system, I think my anxiety about missing the bus will decrease.

What I Learned and the Homeless Man on the Bus

This week I learned that being environmentally friendly doesn't have to cost you, and it can actually benefit you in more ways than you think.  While reducing my carbon footprint, I have many luxuries because of public transportation.  I do not have to start/scrape my car, I don't have to worry about finding a parking space, and I don't have to deal with driving on the icy roads.  Can you say BONUS?!?

I also learned that there are some kind of goofy stereotypes about public transportation.  During this process, part of my change was telling others about my SMART goal.  When I did, I got some crazy responses...

     "Ew.  That's SO dirty.  Why would you ever go on there with such sketchy people?"
     "Did you get in a car accident?!?!  Buses are gross"
     "Do you see a lot of poor people?"  ( <-----wtf? )

These are the three most shocking responses.  I feel like a lot of people think public transportation and instantly picture a dirty bus with a crazy drunk homeless person on it that wants to bite your ear off.  I mean, come on people!  The bus is actually very clean and the people aren't "sketchy."  I don't know where these comments/assumptions come from but they are so far off base.

Future Plans

My plans for next week are to keep it pretty simple and keep my goal the same.  I would like to include the shuttle as part of the "bus" part of my goal since it is still achieving the same goal.  I think that I could maybe push it to 4 days, but I am still not comfortable riding the bus on days that I need to get to work right after class.  So, I will say 4 days of the week (include Thursday) unless I happen to get scheduled on a Thursday (I realize that this is not really that specific but my schedule is all over the place).  Wish me luck!

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by  Amy@ Amy in the Rain

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/Thomas

Healthy People Goal:  Promote health for all through a healthy environment (8. Environmental Health).
     Objective:  8-3 Improve the Nation's air quality by increasing the use of cleaner alternative fuels.
          Sub-objective:  there are no sub-objectives under this objective

Progress Quotient Chart

Under the Progress Quotient Chart for Focus Area 8: Environmental Health, it is stated that there has been an 8% improvement towards Objective 8-3 to improve air quality via cleaner alternative fuels. Compared to some other objectives, an 8% improvement was not too bad.  Some objectives had already been met, such as  poor sanitation and waste water services.  However, others such as waterborne disease outbreaks and alternate modes of transportation have reverted away from their target.  This shows that while some areas of environmental health are greatly improving, there is still a long way to go.  The target for Objective 8-3 is to increase it ten-fold.

Progress

There was not much information about the progress of Objective 8-3.  However, as stated earlier, it was one of the objectives that moved toward its target, achieving an 8% improvement.  

Disparities

Data was unavailable for cleaner alternative fuels under disparities.  

Opportunities and Challenges

One of the challenges of all air quality issues is determining the sources of harmful emissions and implementing effective programs to help reduce key air pollutants.  Another challenge is figuring out how to target large groups such as power plants or motor vehicles that are responsible for some of these air pollutants.  A final challenge presented is linking improvements in outdoor air quality with improvements in the health of individuals.  However, there is some hope.  The EPA will focus on market-based programs to encourage the use of cleaner alternative fuels.  They hope to improve these objectives by continuing to track progress and develop new strategies.  As far as linking air quality to health, that still remains a huge challenge.  

Emerging Issues

The main issues surrounding this objective deal with data collection and data accuracy.  Monitoring air conditions can be very difficult especially in certain countries that do not have monitoring stations set up.  Another factor that can effect the data is the annual weather patterns.  Since weather greatly varies, some statistics are not very accurate.  The page also pointed out that even though pollutants per mile have been cut down, that this has been offset a bit by the amount of miles being driven.  This makes me wonder where the 8% improvement comes from and how much it is offset.  

THOMAS:  S.1408 New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions

                   Title:  New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions

                   Sponsor:  Sen Mendez, Robert [NJ]  (Introduced 7/8/2009)  

                   Cosponsors:  Sen Begich, Mark [AK] - 1/28/2010 

                                        Sen Coburn, Tom [OK] - 10/14/2009
                                        Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 7/8/2009
                                        Sen LeMieux, George S. [FL] - 3/17/2010
                                        Sen Murkowski, Lisa [AK] - 7/21/2009
                                        Sen Reid, Harry [NV] - 7/8/2009
                                        Sen Udall, Mark [CO] - 10/5/2009

                   Latest Major Action:  Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance (7/8/2009)

Recommendation:  Vote YES for S.1408 New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions.  

My political representatives:      

Al Franken - Democrat St. Paul Office
60 East Plato Blvd Suite 220
Saint Paul, MN 55107
(651) 221-1016

Amy Klobuchar - Democrat
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3244

Share & Voice: "Climate Change: The Evidence and Our Opinions"

Lonnie G. Thompson - Ohio State University

Climate Change Lecture

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture entitled, "Climate Change:  The Evidence and Our Opinions."  This presentation was given by Lonnie G. Thompson (left) who is a professor at Ohio State University.  Thompson's talk revolved around his studies of tropical glaciers and the evidence that they are able to show us about climate change.  He has been going on expeditions for over 20 years and has accumulated over 7,000 meters of drilled ice.  In these samples taken from all over the globe, he found some pretty shocking results.

Ice Cores and Expeditions

Ice Core 

  Thompson discussed how glaciers are excellent recorders of climate change in that they preserve long, high-resolution histories of our planet.  This is because ice preserves nearly everything that is in it.  Ice tells us a history of temperature change, vegetation, the atmosphere, volcanic history, and more.  These ice cores even contain entrapped microorganisms and plants that are over 5,200 years old.  In the picture to the left, you can see that the ice core has lines in it, much like tree rings.  These lines indicate one year each.  This means, that without a microscope, you can plainly see how much ice has built up year to year and how quickly we are losing our glaciers and ice caps.  Another indicator of climate change/global warming was bubbles in the ice.  In earlier time periods, you can see nice round bubbles.  However, once you look at more recent history, the bubbles become elongated.  This shows that the ice has melted and then re-froze.  So, why are we losing glaciers?  Thompson points out that besides natural mechanisms, there are non-natural mechanisms that WE as humans are creating that are causing 95% of our glaciers to retreat.  These mechanisms include greenhouse gases, burning fossil fuels, and more.

Solar-powered ice drill

Thompson pointed out another fact that was shocking to me.  He said that of the 6.8 billion people on earth, 1.6 billion do NOT have electricity.  That being said, he also pointed out that of the world's electricity, 65% comes from fossil fuels.  This is quite scary because we are using up our resources much faster than we should be.

Thompson went a bit over my head when he started showing an endless number of charts and graphs and data to go along with them.  But, his main point was this:  Global warming is happening and the percentage of ice loss is rapidly accelerating in the tropics.  We are causing this and need to realize that it is real.

Global Warming Does Not Exist You Say?

For those who say that global warming does not exist, Thompson had a few answers.  He kindly replied that 98% of science agrees that global warming exists and that it is cause for alarm.  He also says that some studies are only looking at satellite data and points out that this is flawed because they are not able to see the melting that is taking place from the top down.  That is why the ice cores are so crucial to our understanding of climate change.

What Does This Mean for Us?

According to Thompson, society has 3 options:

1. Prevention - we can take measures to reduce changes and educate others
2. Adaptation - we can take measure to reduce the impacts of global warming on human well being
3. Suffer - we can suffer from global warming and eventually destruct our planet Earth

Conclusions

This presentation was definitely eye opening and unexpectedly interesting.  I had never heard of ice cores before and did not realize how much information they could provide us with.  It is clear that we need to take preventative measures if we want to see a change.  If we don't, we may lose our planet.  

**All images are from the website:  http://bprc.osu.edu/Icecore/

A map of the Ice Core Sites

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My SMART Goal

1. I want to will ride the bus to and from school 3 days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) each week.  
2. This lifestyle change is eco-chic because by using public transportation I will cut back my gas consumption and emissions.  On the South Wisconsin Transit System Website, I found that "Public transportation reduces the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually. Thirty-seven million metric tons of carbon emissions is equivalent to the electricity used by 4.9 million households."  I think that is pretty neat!  
3. This goal is really important to me because it is something that I have access to and it is free to me, yet I was not doing it.  How crazy is that?!?!  The DTA bus comes right by my apartment and drops off at UMD with plenty of time to spare.  Before this class, I had never even considered riding the bus.  I just thought, why would I when I have a car?  Well now I see all of the environmental benefits as well as the personal ones.  Clearly I can reduce my carbon footprint by using public transportation.  BUT, if I wanted to think of it selfishly, there are some pretty great perks.  First, it is FREE to students so it doesn't cost a thing.  Filling up my tank is usually between $40-$50 for me and that just stinks.  Another great bonus to riding the bus is that I don't have to warm up my car or scrape my windshield every cold, Duluth morning.  (That is reason enough for the change!).  

 I started this change this morning and rode the bus to school.  In some weird way I felt great knowing that I was doing myself and the environment a HUGE favor.  I think that 3 days will be realistic for me to start off, but I am hoping to increase that as the semester goes on.


Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

Picture from Obama's website (linked above)

President:
Barack Obama - Democrat
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
202-456-1111






Congresspersons:

     House:
     Jim Oberstar (DFL)
     2365 Rayburn House Office Building
     Washington, DC 20515
     (202) 225-6211

     Chip Cravaak - Cravaak will serve when the new term starts.

     Senate:
     Al Franken - Democrat
     St. Paul Office
     60 East Plato Blvd Suite 220
     Saint Paul, MN 55107
     (651) 221-1016

     Amy Klobuchar - Democrat

     302 Hart Senate Office Building

     Washington, DC 20510

     (202) 224-3244

Governor:  Because of the slim margin, there may be a mandatory recount between Mark Dayton and Tom Emmer for the new term.  

State Legislatures:

     House:

     Mary Murphy (DFL)

     343 State Office Building  

     100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

     St. Paul MN, 55155

     (651) 296 - 2676

     Senate:

     Thomas Bakk (DFL)

     75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

     Capitol Building Room 226

     St. Paul MN, 55155

     (651) 296-8881

County Board President (St. Louis County):

Kevin Gray

(218) 726-2448

Mayor of Hermantown:

Wayne Boucher
4263 LaVaque Road

Hermantown MN, 55811

(218) 729-3675