The Big Picture!!

http://images.wikia.com/primeval/images/7/76/Earth-1-.jpg

Over the past several months I have been trying to write about the many environmental issues that I think everyone on this planet should be aware of.  I have to tell you though, that until I started this blog, and I started to research these topics/issues, I had no clue that most of these "issues" even existed.  But the truth is, they do exist.  From the large amounts of waste each household and business is producing, to the amount of energy we are consuming, to climate change.  Each one of these issues is important in its own way, to help ensure that our children and grandchildren get the chance to enjoy this great planet that we live on, the way we have.

While globally, all of these issues are "hot topics", I think that the most important environmental issue in California today is our energy consumption.

According to the California Energy Commissions "2011 Integrated Energy Policy Report" http://www.energy.ca.gov/2011publications/CEC-100-2011-001/CEC-100-2011-001-CMF.pdf,

Californians consumed about 272,300 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in 2010.  This is up from 250,241GWh in 2001 http://www.energy.ca.gov/2005publications/CEC-100-2005-007/CEC-100-2005-007-CMF.PDF.  This number is projected to reach between 313,493GWh and 332,514GWh by 2022, a growth rate of between 1.18% and 1.68%.

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I decided to look into energy consumption on a closer level and here is what I found.  http://www.ecdms.energy.ca.gov/elecbycounty.aspx  The total residential electricity consumption in Riverside County in 2006 was 6852.51kWh (kilowatt hours).  In 2010, the total residential usage was 6271.39kWh.

http://www.endchildpoverty.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/images/yay.jpg

This news is great.  It means that Riverside County has actually made progress in reducing energy consumption in residential households.

But we can't stop now.  We already saw what the projections are for 2022, so we need to continue to make changes to reverse these projections.

On an individual level, I have a lot of work to do (well actually, me AND my family).  I went to our Edison account https://www.sce.com/SMA/ESCAA/UsageMonthlyTrend.aspx and found out our energy consumption over the last 12 months.  Each month is up and down, however there are no significant signs of improvement.  As a matter of fact, our usage in May 2011 was 612kWh and our usage for May 2012 (as of yesterday 5/28/12) is already 829kWh, and there is still 3 days left in the month.

https://www.sce.com/SMA/ESCAA/UsageMonthlyTrend.aspx

This is unacceptable, and I am making this commitment, right now and every day forward, to decrease my families energy consumption, and do our fair share of improving this planet.

So what has been the most interesting thing I have learned these last few months since I started writing this blog?

I would have to say that finding out what my Ecological Footprint is was probably most important.  It really gave me a clear picture of the issues that I need to work on.  It's really easy for people to say You need to recycle more", or "You drive too much", but lets face it, everyone is different and has different habits.  What might be true for you is not necessarily true for me.

Knowing what your Ecological Footprint is, helps give you a starting point, and from there you can improve your footprint.

I am going to re-calculate my Ecological Footprint on February 20, 2013 (exactly 1 year from my first footprint) to see if I am going in the right direction or if I need to re-think my plan of action.

TRASH, TRASH, TRASH!

http://greenbayconsumer.com/files/2011/05/garbage-can.jpg

Recently, it seems like my household is creating more and more trash.  I'm pretty sure that I have to say
"Can you empty the trash?" at least four times a week.  So, I asked myself this question "How much waste are we creating in our household?"  I mean it really can't be that much right? We only have four people living in our home.

But how can I really know how much waste we are producing?  I decided to keep a log of everything we throw in the trash over a 3 day period.  WOW! Was this an eye opener.

I enlisted the help of my husband and kids, and here is what we threw out:

Friday, May 18th - Sunday, May 20th

Trash:

• 2 - empty 12 pack boxes of Diet Coke
• 1 - empty plastic gallon milk jug
• 1 - empty pizza box
• 20 - cans of Diet Coke
• 1 - empty egg carton
• 2 - empty cans of corn
• 2 - empty boxes of macaroni and cheese
• 1 - empty cereal box
• Several paper towels
• 2 - Swiffer wet mop cloths
• 22 - pieces of junk mail (ads)
• 1 - bouquet of dead flowers
• 3 - empty cans of cat food
• 10 - paper plates
• 2 - empty toilet paper rolls

This created ~3 10lb bags of trash.  If we keep this up, that's 1 bag a day, 7 bags a week, 365 bags a year.  All of this trash filling up the landfills.

http://nalube.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/trash.gif

So after seeing all the things that we throw away, and realizing that we didn't even recycle, we decided to do some research to find ways we could reduce our waste and help the environment at the same time.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Almost every website I went to said these same three words.

I found several good ideas from many websites including: http://greenbitch.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/3r-reduce-reuse-recycle/ and http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/homeandgarden.htm.

Reduce:

• Buy less & use less
• Buy recycled or recyclable products
• Bring your own reusable shopping bag with you while shopping
• Buy local
• Cut down on canned & frozen foods
• Buy fresh vegetables and meats
• Cook more at home and eat less at fast food places

Reuse:

• Reuse disposable items like plastic cups, plates and cutlery.
• Buy products in refillable containers, like soap and coffee
• Refill empty water bottles instead of buying new ones

Recycle:

• Soda cans
• Soda boxes
• Glass bottles
• Plastic milk containers & water bottles
• Use food scraps as a compost in your yard

http://crawfordboysclothing.com/wp-content/uploads/recycle-logo.jpg

Now here is the challenge.
Can we use any of the ideas I listed above to help reduce the waste we create in our home?

Again, I enlisted the help of my family and for 3 more days we kept track of our waste.  This time, however, we included recycling.

Monday, May 21st - Wednesday, May 23rd

Trash:

• 6 egg shells
• 1 empty container of ice cream
• 1 10lb empty bag of dog food
• 1 empty bread bag
• miscellaneous take out food trash

Recycled:

• 22 cans of Diet Coke
• 1 empty gallon milk jug
• 7 plastic grocery bags
• 3 daily news papers
• 12 pieces of junk mail
• 3 empty cans of green beans

We used 1 10 gallon trash bag (2 less than the previous 3 days)

While we didn't make all of the changes I previously listed (3 days is not a lot of time) our biggest impact was implementing a recycling program.  This is something that we are definitely going to continue in our household, especially since the kids realized that they could make some easy money if they keep it up.

http://www.4us2be.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Recycle-earn_money.jpg

I will update you in a few months to see how much progress we have made, and to share any new ideas that we have come up with, to help reduce our waste even more.

What will you do to help reduce the waste you produce?

Is It Getting Hot In Here?

http://www.postcarbon.org/new-site-files/Articles/climate-change-flip.jpg

I don't know about you, but almost every day I look in the newspaper or log onto the internet, I see a story about climate change.  Sometimes the stories/articles are talking about the things we as humans are doing to contribute to climate change, and sometimes they are talking about new resources available to us, to help slow down these changes. Either way, both types of stories/articles say the same thing "Climate change is happening right now".

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http://peakfood.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/wrights-register-june-08.jpg

According to the EPA website http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html, climate change is affecting people and the environment everyday.  But what is climate change?  Well the EPA defines climate change as "any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer)". 

I wanted to see if there has been any significant change in the city of Riverside climate in the last decade, however I could only find archives dating back to 2006, so I decided to compare the last 6 years.  According to the web site http://weathercurrents.com/riverside/Archive2011.do, there has not been a significant change in weather in Riverside over the last 6 years.  I made this chart with the information given on the web site and as you can see, the average temperatures have actually dropped:

Year	Average High Temp	Average Low Temp	Days Over 100 °F	Precipitation
2006	79.4 °F	55.3 °F	22	5.26"
2011	77.8 °F	53.8 °F	7	6.93"

Riverside is just one of many cities across the U.S. though so just because we haven't seen much of a change here, does not mean it isn't happening.

According to the website http://news.discovery.com/earth/warmest-decade-climate.html, temperatures trended upward by about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit per decade over the past 30 years, and the average global temperatures have increased a total of about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880.

This might not seem like a lot, but think about this, "World powers agreed at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December 2009, to seek to prevent average temperatures from rising beyond 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels in order to halt the most devastating effects of global warming" http://news.discovery.com/earth/warmest-decade-climate.html

 So are we humans responsible for these climate changes?  According to the EPA's report on climate change indicators http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators/pdfs/ClimateIndicators_full.pdf, "In the U.S., greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities increased by 14% from 1990 to 2008, with CO2 accounting for most of this increase".  Worldwide numbers show an increase gases from human activities by 26% from 1990 to 2005.

With these numbers alone, I would definitely say that we are responsible for the majority of global warming.

So by now you might be thinking "Why should I worry about climate change?"  "How does it affect me?"

Well, according to the EPA, climate change can affect human health in many ways, either directly or indirectly.  Some of these effects are::

• Direct temperature - more extreme heat waves during the summer and less extreme cold spells during the winter.  This will be especially dangerous for people with heart problems, asthma, the elderly, and very young children.
• Extreme events - more frequent and severe hurricanes and floods
• Climate-sensitive diseases - may increase the risk of some vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis.
• Air quality - can lead to more respiratory disorders, damaged lung tissue, and particulate matter pollution

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/health.html

Believe it or not, even with all of the information available to us, there are still people who do not think climate change is a problem.

The Heartland Institute http://heartland.org/ideas/global-warming-not-crisis, says that "Probably two-thirds of the warming in the 1990's was due to natural causes".  They also believe that climate change and global warming are all part of a political agenda.

The majority of the world believes that global warming is a serious problem (with the exception of the U.S., China, and Russia).

Only 44% in the U.S. believe climate change is a problem compared to 68% in France, 65% in Japan, 61% in Spain, and 60% in Germany.  However in Brazil, 90% of the population say it is a "very serious problem".
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1427/global-warming-major-problem-around-world-americans-less-concerned

My last thought of the night is this: "What will the world be like in 50 years, if we continue on our current path and make no changes to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere?"

I think that the world will definitely be hotter and dryer.  Antarctica will probably be half the size it is now, and Alaska will no longer have all of the glaciers they currently have.  The lakes and rivers will be mostly dried up, and no one will have grass in their yards.

But that's just my opinion!

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A Day in the Dark!

Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents kept telling you to "Turn off the lights when you leave the room"?  Well, it turns out that our parents were actually trying to teach us an important lesson about conserving energy.  Let's face it, our society today, especially in the U.S., is so dependent on our energy consuming products that the mere thought of going a day without these items is heartbreaking.

I mean, honestly, how are we supposed to go a day without reading a tweet on our cell phone, or watching our favorite show on the television.  It's unheard of right?

http://www.westerncape.gov.za/image/2004/2/eetip8_lights.jpg

 

 

Well, would you feel the same way if you knew that the average U.S. home uses 30.16 kWh of energy a day?  According to the Southern California Edison website www.sce.com, the average U.S. home uses 30.16 kWh each day.  This is equal to the combined kinetic energy of 108 1-ton vehicles moving at 100mph.  Would you feel different about conserving energy if you knew that using your air conditioner to cool your house uses 16.5 percent of your homes total energy consumption?  It's something to think about huh!

I sat down with my family this weekend and told them that we were going to spend our entire Sunday using the bare minimum of our energy consuming products in our home.  At first everyone was on board with this idea, UNTIL I told them the rules.

No cell phones
No computers
No television
No air conditioner
No driving our cars
Minimal light usage
No kitchen appliances

When the rules were laid out, their tones changed.  Suddenly I had every excuse in the book being thrown my way on why we couldn't do this.  I didn't give in though and we started our Sunday, April 29th, in the dark.

Saturday night, before we went to bed, my younger son Cameron and I unplugged all of the appliances in the kitchen, except for the refrigerator of course.  Our day started off pretty slow.  We all ate cereal and milk for breakfast.  After we ate, we decided that we should do something that would keep our minds off of the items that we CANNOT use.  We went into the backyard and painted the fence.  This is something that we had planned to do in a few weeks anyway so it all worked out.  The painting took a good portion of our morning, and thankfully it wasn't too hot out.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon, I did homework, not using my computer, but reading my textbooks.  Cameron went outside to ride his bike with his friends, and Nick left with his girlfriend.  He said that he wasn't breaking any rules since she was driving her car and he wasn't.

We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and they were pretty good.  Without having any TV to watch or computer use, I had plenty of time to take a nap.  It was wonderful.  I haven't been able to do that in a long time.

Our day concluded with an evening walk around the neighborhood and then for dinner we barbequed hot dogs.  I can't believe that we actually made it through the day without picking up our cell phones or watching the TV.  It wasn't impossible and honestly it wasn't that hard!

I wanted to wait a couple of days before writing this blog, to see if we actually made a difference.  SCE has this feature for their customers on their website www.sce.com, that gives you daily totals of energy usage for your house.  You can even view hourly usage totals if you wish.  It usually takes a couple of days for the website to be updated, that's why I had to wait a little while.

So here are the results!!

www.sce.com

As you can see, we made a significant change from Sunday April 22nd to Sunday April 29th.

I shared this information with my family and we all agreed that we would try to conserve more energy on a daily basis.

The toughest part of this whole experience for all of us was not being able to sue our cell phones or computer.  The easiest part was using less kitchen appliances and making meals that did not require turning on the stove or using the microwave.

My husband has made a promise to contact a few companies to get quotes for installing solar panels on the house.  Hopefully this will help us try to conserve more energy without giving up the things that we love.

Why don't you give it a try!

Thirsty For Some Water?

Have you ever wondered where your water comes from?  For most people this question falls into the category of questions that we never expect to get an answer to, such as "Why is the sky blue?"  For me however, I am really interested in finding out more about where the water I use on a daily basis comes from.  I also want to know what is in my water and how it can effect me as well as my family.  So I decided to do a little research this past week and I am going to share my results with you.

http://1000greensteps.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mpglass.jpg

 

The first thing I had to find out was where my water comes from.  I live in the city of Perris, CA, which does not have their own private water source so they purchase the water from Eastern Municipal Water District.  I have to say that I was a bit surprised to find out that we purchase our water from an outside source, but I found that this is a pretty common thing.  According to the city web site http://www.cityofperris.org/residents/water.html, the city purchases approximately 640 million gallons of water a year from EMWD.

So now that I know where our water comes from, the outside source, I did some research on EMWD.  I went to their website http://emwd.org/index.aspx?page=157, and guess what I found out!  About 75% of EMWD's potable (drinkable) water is imported from the Metropolitan Water District from the Colorado River Aqueduct.  I'm starting to feel like I do when I am on the phone trying to talk to someone and I keep getting transferred from person to person.

In all seriousness though, I am surprised at all the different agencies that are involved just to supply us with a water source for our homes.  The remaining 25% of EMWD's potable water comes from groundwater wells in Hemet, San Jacinto, Moreno Valley, Perris Valley, and Murrieta.

Okay, now that I REALLY know where our water comes from, I need to find out about the quality of the drinking water in my home.  On the same EMWD website, they have the 2010 Consumer Confidence Report on Water Quality for my area. http://emwd.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=1034

There was quite a bit of information on the water Quality Report for my area, some of which I could understand or relate to , such as total coliforms and water pH levels, since I deal with these at work, however there was a lot of information that would take me a bit longer to interpret.  Overall the water supplied by EMWD to its customers in 2010 either met or surpassed all health-based drinking water standards.  This is good news!

http://www.themagazine.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/tap-bottled-water.jpg

 

Speaking of water quality standards, where do they come from?  The tap water standards are set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and they are enforced by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).  According to the EPA website http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/, the EPA sets legal limits on the levels of certain contaminants in drinking water.  There are a large amount of regulations and for me to list all of them would mean you would be reading this blog for hours.  I will however list a few of them:

• Regulations of chemical contaminants (ex. Arsenic, lead, copper, radionuclides)
• Regulations of microbial contaminants (ex. coliforms, water treatment rules, disinfectant/disinfection byproducts)
• Analytical methods regulations
• Pre-treatment regulations
• Sewage sludge regulations

Since we know that our tap water is regulated, what about the bottled water we purchase.
Bottled water standards are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  According to their website http://www.fda.gov , the regulations for bottled water are very similar to tap water regulations:

• Processing and bottling regulations
• Coliform bacteria
• Arsenic
• Uranium
• Disinfectants/disinfection byproducts
• Cyanide, nickel, thallium

So who's standards are more strict?  According to the water quality department at Cornell University http://waterquality.cce.cornell.edu/bottled.htm#stds , tap water from municipal plants are subject to more frequent testing and inspection than bottled water.  Also the municipal plants must report their test results to the public, bottled water companies are not required to do this.  As a matter of fact, the FDA cannot even require that bottled water companies perform regular testing on their water, they can only require the companies to provide a nutrition label and expiration date on the bottle. This doesn't look to good for bottled water!

The last thing I am going to talk about tonight (I know this blog is pretty long this week, but it's important) is how bottled water affects the environment.  We all know that bottled water is convenient to have on hand but it truly is not good for the environment.
1/2 a billion bottles of water a week are consumed in the US.  According to a report from the California Department of Conservation http://www.consrv.ca.gov/index/news/2003%20News%20Releases/Pages/NR2003-13_Water_Bottle_Crisis.aspx, more than 1 billion water bottles are winding up in the trash in California each year.  That equals almost 3 million empty water bottles going into the trash EVERYDAY!
By not recycling, Californians are not claiming an estimated $26 million in CRV (California Refund Value) deposits annually.  Also, if we did recycle those bottles, they could be used to make 74 million square feet of carpet.

WOW!

http://www.seathos.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/floatingbottles.jpg

Sustainability. Yes it is possible!

As you can see from my last few blogs, I have been focusing on ways that I can do my part to help our environment preserve it's natural resources, making it better for all of us.  This blog, I have decided to put my focus on my college campus.  I currently attend Riverside City College, and I want to see just how "green" our campus really is. 

There are many areas around campus that would affect our "green" status, however I have listed just a few of them.

• How much wast is thrown out on a monthly basis on campus.
• How much energy is used on a monthly basis on campus.
• How many trees do we have on campus.
• How much does our campus spend on water services on a monthly basis.
• Do we have a recycling program in place on campus.  Are students and faculty aware of these programs.

These are questions that not only I ask, but many other Colleges and Universities around the nation ask as well.  The University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, actually completed a sustainability assessment recently to help them with their goal to achieve carbon neutrality over the next 40 years.

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth    www.umassd.edu

Their assessment is titled "Responsibility and Renewal".  They started with baseline calculations, suggested improvements, and made a blueprint for long term sustainable planning and management.  This assessment took 2 years to complete, and included information and surveying of over 200 faculty, staff, and students.

Their assessment includes the areas of purchasing, waste, transportation, and land use, as well as many other areas.

You can click on the link below to see the complete assessment (140 pages long).  This will give you a better idea of how detailed the campus needed to be, to ensure they have all the information needed to make a reliable plan for sustainability.

www.umassd.edu/sustainability/campussustainability/assessment

If I was to choose just one of the areas I mentioned above, and complete an assessment of my campus' current sustainability, I would choose the question "How much waste is thrown out on a monthly basis".

To do this, I will first contact the President of Riverside City College, Dr. Cynthia Azari, and ask for permission to conduct this assessment.  I will present her with my plan and express how I believe this assessment will only help our school achieve a "green" status faster.

Next I will contact Ralph Perez, Director of Facilities/Operations and Maintenance at RCC.  I will ask if he could tell me how many times the trash is picked up by Waste Management each month, and if he had an average weight of each pick up.  I will also ask Mr. Perez if we have any current plans in place to help limit the amount of waste we use, such as recycling programs.

I will also contact someone in Accounting Services to see if they could give me an estimate of how much money the campus pays monthly for waste removal.

Now it is time to make a plan!

Let's start with a baseline, which is how many pounds of waste is removed from campus on a weekly basis.
Now, we will implement a recycling program on campus, that will consist of cardboard recycling bins placed strategically throughout the campus.  I know for a fact that the new math and science building, which is four stories high, does not have any recycle bins on any of the floors.  There are plenty of regular trash cans though, which only gives students and faculty the excuse to toss trash that COULD be recycled into the county landfill system.

I will work with Mr. Perez to keep a tally of how much waste is removed on a weekly basis for the entire Fall 2012 semester.  I will monitor any trends, whether positive or negative, and make adjustments to my plan if things are not working out in a positive way.

There will be no labor costs as I will be tallying the data myself.  There will be no additional costs for the maintenance department since they will still keep their regular work load.  Also, I will ask Dr. Huff, faculty adviser for the Sustainability Club, if they would be willing to be responsible for the recycling bins, and in return, the club could keep the funds received from recycling for their clubs activities.

Finally, I plan to get the support of the entire faculty and student body by showing them that by making some small changes, we can not only help preserve our natural resources and help the environment, but we can also save money for the campus, and that might just help us during these tough budget times.  Maybe, just maybe, we can stop the reducing of available classes each semester.

I know this seems like a lot to concur, but I'm up for the challenge!

The new Math & Science building  www.rcc.edu

HOW much do I use???

Have you ever wondered how many of our Earths natural resources you use in a 24 hour period, just going about your normal day to day activities?  I have to admit that I never really paid attention to the things I use on a daily basis, so I decided to spend an entire day keeping track of the items I use everyday.  Let me first say, I had no idea that I used so many different items each day.  With that said, here is all the items I used, broken down into different groups:

Food & Drink                                                             
Fiber One Bar                                       
Diet Coke                                             
Garden Salad                                        
Lite Italian Dressing
Hot Dog                                                                        
Mustard
Hot Dog Bun
Rice
Chicken Curry
Strawberry Ice Cream

Housing & other buildings
Concrete
Stucco
Wood
Electricity

Photo credit: www.coca-cola.com

Water
Refrigerator
Stove

Clothing
Jeans
T-Shirt
Bra
Underwear
Socks
Tennis Shoes
Lab Coat
Pajamas

Transportation & Roads                                                             
Car - plastic and metal                                
Tires                                                    
Asphalt                                                
Paint                                                    
Plastic reflectors                                   
Concrete                                              
Metal railings 

School Supplies
Paper
Pencil
Pen
Textbooks
Calculator                                            
Plastic dividers
Binder

Photo credit: www.apple.com

Personal Care Products
Shampoo
Conditioner
Hair Dryer
Brush
Face soap
Barrett
Eye Liner
Lipstick
Lip gloss
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Toilet Paper

Leisure Activities
Computer
iPhone
iPad                                                               
Shopping
Movies
Book
Television

Other
Items from work:
Agar
Test Tubes
Incinerator
Incubator
Bio Safety Hood
Biological Waste Bags
Pipette
Microscope
Biochemical Tubes
Centrifuge
Water Bath
Refrigerator
Freezer

Wow! Look at this list.  It is amazing to think that each and everyone of these items on this list uses up one or more of our Earths resources.

Let's look at just one of these items in more detail.  This is the shampoo that I use on a daily basis.  Suave Professionals: Damage Care


http://www.suave.com

Here is a list of the ingredients in this shampoo as provided on the bottle:

Water (Aqua), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Dimethiconol, Fragrance (Parfum), Carbomer, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, PPG-9, Tetrasodium EDTA, TEA-Sulfate, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, PEG-45M, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Ascorbic Acid [Vitamin C], Niacinamide, Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)

This shampoo is used by applying it to your hair once a day, lathering, and rinsing.

This shampoo is made by L'Oreal USA Creative Inc.  I tried to contact them to see if they could tell me how and where this shampoo is made, but I have not received a return e-mail yet.  I will let you guys know if and when they get back to me.

I bought this shampoo at Wal-Mart, however, I am sure that it had to get there by a delivery truck to the store and possible a boat if the product was made outside of the United States.

I am not sure if this product will ever become "not useful", but if it did, all of the ingredients listed are compounds that can definitely be used elsewhere on Earth.


According the the website http://www.suave.com , there is very minimal animal testing with this product and they are in the process of testing all of their products with non-animal testing methods, which will be implemented in the near future.  Also, the shampoo is biodegradable so it will be absorbed naturally into the Earth.


This product was not around 100 years ago, but I am sure that back then, people used what ever soap (possibly handmade) they had available to wash their hair.


Reflecting back on everything that I have observed during this 24 hour period, I realize that I use way too many natural resources on a daily basis.  There are 3 other people living in my household, so I can just imagine how my totals would increase when I multiply them by 4.  Now think about all the people in my city, in our state, and in the entire world that use many of these products on a daily basis as well.  All of this "environmental soul searching" is really opening my eyes to the value of our planet.  I am definitely ready to make some major changes in mine and my families lives.  I hope you will do the same.