Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Plastics

Ever wondered what kinds of plastics can be recycled at UNCG?

Find out from Ben Kunka of OWRR in this second podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG. If you missed the first one, you can watch it here.





Transcript:
Transcript (pdf)

Biking Options @UNCG

Bike loans and rentals available now, sponsored by HealthyUNCG and Spartan Cycles. $25 fall semester bike rental special includes bike, helmet, lock and basic maintenance for the rest of the semester through Reading Day 12/6/11. Email bike@uncg.edu to schedule an appointment to pick out a bike and for more info.

More bike racks are coming soon! Look for new bike racks to be installed near the Rec Center, HHP, Bryan, School of Education, and MHRA Moore Humanities buildings as well as Ragsdale-Mendenhall and Weil-Winfield residence halls. Remember to always secure your bicycle to a designated bike rack. Never create a safety hazard by chaining your bike to a railing, bench, sign, or post.

Bike registration benefits include FREE emergency ride home and discounts at local bike shops. Visit http://parking.uncg.edu/bike or stop by the Parking Operations & Campus Access Management office adjacent to the Walker Avenue Parking Deck for more information.

(Photo credit @protorio)

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Introduction

Remember when we asked if anyone had questions about recycling?

This is the first in a series of podcasts about recycling at UNCG that should answer those questions and more.





Transcript:
Transcript (pdf)

Office of Sustinabiltiy - No Impact Project Week Events!

No Impact Kick Off Event! View selected clips of the No Impact Movie and network with other students on how to lessen your impact on the environment. The Office of Sustainability will be on hand to answer your questions and get you started on the right path. Monday, October 24th at 6:30p.m @Music Building Room 217


Monday: Consumption Challenge
The “Story of Stuff” video will the shared with students. Information will be provided to students about reducing purchase, buying handmade, local, and low-packaged goods. Students will also be able to participate in a mug and book exchange. Any leftover mugs and books will be donated to the Salvation Army.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 3p.m.

Tuesday: Transportation Challenge
The Parking and Campus Access Office will be providing programming on low-impact methods of transportation available to students.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 2p.m.


Wednesday: Food Challenge
Healthy recipes made with local food will be featured at tabling activity in the EUC. Also, information will be shared with students about foods with the lowest carbon footprint.

Location: Inside the EUC
Time: 10a.m. to 3p.m.

****A camera will be set up at Campus Sustainability events on Walker Circle for students to record testimonials about their No Impact experience**** 10am to 3pm****

Thursday: Energy Challenge
The Triad Student Energy Alliance (founding chapter at UNCG) will host an energy triathlon event!

1. Vampire Energy Slaying
2. Clean Energy and Conservation letter writing and petition
3. Energy Jeopardy game

Participate in 1 event and have your name entered to win a small energy-related goodie bag.
Participate in 2 events and have your name entered to an energy related prize.
Participate in 3 events and have your name entered to win the energy prize package.

www.triadstudentenergyalliance.wordpress.com

• Energy Jeopardy 9-11a.m. Azalea Room
• Green Dorm Audits 2-3:30pm
• Vampire Energy Slaying 5-7pm (meet in front of Music Building)

Friday: Water Challenge
A water taste test will be to see if students can tell the difference between tap water and bottled water. Information about the issues surrounding water will be shared with students as well.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 3p.m.

****A camera will be set up at this event for students to record testimonials about their No Impact experience**** 10am to 3pm****

From Jessica Trotman, Sustainability Education & Outreach Specialist
UNCG Office of Sustainability jgtrotma@uncg.edu 336-334-3664
www.uncg.edu/fac/sustainability
www.uncgsustainability.wordpress.com

Green Leak of the Month

Really, anything can be reused or repurposed.  This blog - How Can I Recycle This?  -  offers over 900 items and over 14,000 suggestions of ways to reuse, repurpose or recycle things that would otherwise go in the bin! Check it out, search for most anything and find creative and useful ideas for recycling!  From VHS tapes to crock pots to old lentils to  house keys.  Search and explore or share your own ideas.  You can also follow them on twitter.

Green Leak of the Week: Free Bikes On Campus for Students, Faculty, and Staff

You may have seen this notice in Campus Weekly about the availability of bicycles for students, faculty, and staff. You can check out a bike for a day, week, or even the whole summer. The bikes are checked out through Parking Services in the Oakland Deck, (just past Yum Yums). It's staffed on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11-4. Right now, the only catch is that the office has run out of locks, so if you do want to check out a bicycle, you need to bring a bike lock with you to the office. They will provide a helmet. For more information, contact Suz Williams at 334-5595 or suz@uncg.edu.


Photo by Tim Schapker.

Green Leak of the Week: Wildcrafting 01 - An Introduction

This is the introductory video of the Green Library Group's YouTube series. To start the series, Stacey briefly discussed what wildcrafting is and how wildcrafting is a vehicle for building a beneficial relationship between you and your environment.

Green Leak of the Week 4/28/11

Now that you have all converted your light bulbs in your house to the CFLs (you know the pig tail ones). What do you do with them when they finally die? They are considered a hazardous waste. That means they cannot be placed in your trash cans. You can now bring them in and place them in the CFL collection box in the vending machine room in the basement. It has picture on it and is really obvious.

Unlike taking them to Home Depot, you do not need to place them in a bag. Just place your CFL bulb in the bucket just inside the box. (The bucket already has a bag in it)

Happy Recycling!
Ann

Green Leak: UNCG Transportation Challenge

The UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge is a University initiative to support the annual Triad Commute Challenge sponsored by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) and Triad Air Awareness.

$ave money, help the environment, and register for multiple chances to win great prizes by participating in the annual UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge.

Step 1: Pledge to try a form of sustainable transportation -- bike, bus, carpool, walk, or Zipcar -- at least once before July 9th. Completing an online or paper pledge form is quick and easy; the pledge process takes less than a minute of your time.

Step 2: Choose a form of sustainable transportation (bike, bus, carpool, walk, or Zipcar -- anything other than driving alone) and give it a try at least once before July 9th.

Don’t have a car on campus? Great! You’re already using sustainable transportation so why not go ahead and submit a pledge form to be rewarded for your efforts.

In exchange for pledging to drive alone less, participants are eligible to receive a free tote bag or lunch bag, two PART bus passes, and a reflective blinking light to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety. These small prizes may be picked up from the parking office adjacent to Walker Deck. Participants also will be entered to win prizes including a new bicycle ($500 value), an iPad 2, athletic gear, bike helmets, bike locks, gift certificates, and more!

Weekly prize drawings begin April 9th. Earn extra points and increase your chance of winning by collecting pledges from friends. Earn even more points by collecting bike registrations too.

Pledge online at http://partnc.org/challenge.html or stop by the parking office adjacent to the Walker Avenue Parking Deck for more information.

NOTE: The UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge is a University initiative to support the annual Triad Commute Challenge sponsored by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) and Triad Air Awareness. Last year PART collected more than 4,000 pledges throughout the 10-county Triad region, and 49% came from UNCG. Our goal this year is 5,000 total pledges with a least half coming from UNCG.

Radiation Poisoning and Alternative Medicine

In light of the devastating nuclear instability in Japan, I thought it might be worthwhile to add on to our “Green Leaks” with a quick blog on radiation poisoning treatment in complementary medicine. There is a lot of random information surfacing with very little scientific evidence to back up the claims. Here is my summary of the alternative treatments about which you may be hearing:

Using iodine to treat radioactive iodine poisoning:This is probably the most common treatment you will see popping up in internet forums. Basically, there is unstable, radioactive iodine, and relatively stable potassium iodine or KI (I-127). The radioactive iodine hypothesized to be released from nuclear fission is I-131, with a half life of about 8 days. The idea is to saturate your thyroid glands with the stable form of iodine so that your body does not absorb the highly radioactive iodine. For guidelines on this treatment, checkout the FDA’s FAQ section on KI as well as the downloadable pdf, Guidance on Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in Radiation Emergencies.

Iodine supplementation is a tricky thing—if you overdose, it can mimic hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Also, if you have had any history of hypo/hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer and/or cysts, you should really talk to a healthcare professional before you begin taking massive doses of KI. Additionally, I have found that people who have seafood, especially shell fish allergies are very sensitive to iodine. If you have any sort of allergy or sensitivity to iodine, be very careful.


Daily intake of strong miso soup to prevent heavy metal and radioactive build up:Miso soup as a preventative measure for heavy metal and radioactive toxicity is based on the story of a Japanese doctor, Dr. Shinichoro Akizuki, who treated patients in Nagasaki after the explosion of the atomic bomb. According to reports, this doctor and his staff did not suffer any of the symptoms from radiation poisoning because the doctor specifically ordered his staff to consume concentrated unsweetened miso while treating their patients.

There are some articles suggesting that fermented foods may help with radiation sickness. Definitely, if you enjoy a good cup of miso for lunch or dinner, keep going. This is a relatively low risk alternative treatment. For more scientific information, go to PubMed.gov and try the following keywords: Fermentation Radiation Dosage, Radiation-Protective Agents/pharmacology, Soybeans, Radiation-Protective Agents

Bentonite and Zeolite Clay:Clay baths are a common alternative treatment for assumed radiation and heavy metal contamination. Fans of the clay maintain that the clay is magnetically charged and attracts contamination out of your body.

There are different classes of bentonite (montmorillonite) clay, depending on the dominant mineral in the clay. If you go to a local health store, you are most likely to find sodium bentonite clay. This is the type of clay usually used as a base in clay cat litter. It expands when wet, so avoid internal use, but it is also cheaper and more accessible than calcium bentonite.

There is not a lot of scholarly material that proves this clay is effective in the treatment of radiation poisoning, but I have found bentonite to provide a very cleansing bath, personally. Basically, draw a hot bath and dissolve ½- 2 cups of bentonite in the water. Soak for not longer than 20 minutes once per week. Now for the downside—you’ve got to clean the bathtub out by hand so as little of the mud goes down your drain and clogs your plumbing. A useful, though non-scientific, home remedy website to visit for information on bentonite clay is Earth Clinic.

Green Leak of the Week--A Cleaner Commute

Just in time for Spring and rising gas prices, Campus Recreation is now offering free showers for staff and faculty who ride their bikes or walk to work. To participate, you need to fill out a brief agreement available here.

Thanks to Laurie for the picture of Chad!