Class Project: Sustainable Living Ad Campaign

This week in class we worked in groups on ad campaigns that would target college students and sustainable living. The project dealt with Greg Horn's book Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability. My group selected Horn's section "7 Steps to Sustainable Eating" and chose to incorporate pop culture in the mix and ended up creating an ad campaign based around X-Men.

 

Gordon designed the posters while Renee, Aimee, and I worked on the argument portion of the assignment.

Professor X Argument: Use Reusable Water Bottles

What is one simple way to save some money? Stop using plastic cups, water bottles, and dishes. I know plastic items are cheaper and that is the way of the college student. However, for just a couple dollars more you can buy ceramic or glass dishes to avoid the toxins in plastic getting into your food. When you warm up your Ramen noodles in a plastic bowl in the microwave the heat can make those chemicals even more dangerous to your body. Also, instead of buying that 24-pack of water bottles you could just refill an EPA approved water bottle for a convenient beverage on the go. Doing this will save you money on water and will be able to give you those couple extra dollars for some ceramic plates! An essential part of most college student lives is that grand cup of coffee. Try going to places that use biodegradable cups or just make it at home and again save a couple bucks. Key trend here is to save money and buy less plastic items to ensure no digestion of toxic chemicals. --Renee Garcia

Wolverine Argument: Cut Fried & Processed Foods From Your Diet

Do you hate being sick and feeling sluggish? If you do, the best way to change that is to eat healthier. I know as a college student you would rather being eating Chick-fil-a for dinner instead of cooking. However, eating organic foods can prevent you from being loaded down with chemicals like pesticides and herbicides. Eating organic fruits, meats, and vegetables may be a little more expensive, but will free your body of harmful toxins. You will have more energy to study and be alert in school. I'm sure studying is not the only thing college students do, so eating non-processed foods will give you the energy and health to do more fun adventurous things. Especially for all you gym-crazed boys and girls, eating organic will help you be stronger mentally and physically. By using organic bananas in your protein shakes you can help your body prepare itself to stay fit. So think, is it really a better option to eat chips, McDonald's, and other processed foods? Or is it better to eat organic so you can be in the best shape of your life-- Renee Garcia

Shadowcat Argument: Avoid Soda and Sugar

Trying to avoid the dreaded Freshman 15? Want to have more energy for your long days of classes and work? Tired of the constant sugar highs and lows? The easiest way to avoid weight gain, maintain your energy, feel healthier and stay alert for your long days is to cut out sugar and soda from your diet. Life as a college student is extremely demanding with long days, a shortage of money, and balancing new lifestyle habits so it's important to pay attention to what you put in your body for fuel. Making smarter choices ahead of time will pay off significantly later. Sugar and soda cause you to overeat, and store fat. Not to mention they are also the biggest contributors to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer and other health woes! The average American consumes 160 pounds of sugar every year, so no wonder there are so many major health issues. Not to mention that it is hidden in a variety of different forms and names, including high-fructose corn syrup. All of these culprits are out there to cause you to gain weight, get sick, and become so heavily addicted that you are constantly shelling out more and more money to buy these products that are poisoning your body. So be smart and think before you drink soda or eat foods that are high in sugar.
 --Cheryl Pakidis

Storm Argument: Filter Your Water

How many of you have your own filter at home? Don't be shy. Not very many, huh? That's not a huge issue, but it's one you might want to consider. Not only does filtering your own water from the tap save water bottles, but it also saves water and eliminates many harmful bacterias that can make you sick. Do you honestly know where your water comes from? Think about it for a second: some animal has probably done his business in the same river that flows through your pipes! Gross! I'll admit that I don't have a water filter at home, and we still drink bottled water, but that's because of the expense. Money is pretty tight these days. However, where I live, our water is filtered before we even turn on the faucet. Maybe I will try something new though. What about you? --Aimee Moore

Educational Alliance for Sustainable Florida

     The Educational Alliance for Sustainable Florida (EASF) is a brand new network of university and college leaders engaged in sustainability efforts. Last week (January 25 & 26) the first gathering was held at the University of Florida. These two days were spent networking with representatives from schools across the state. The conference was divided into two parts: the Florida Student Sustainability Summit, and the EASF Roundtable.
     I was fortunate enough to split my time between these events and participate both as a student from the University of North Florida and as the National Wildlife Federation Southeast Fellow. The student summit focused on sustainable food on campus, renewable energy/carbon offset, and student sustainability efforts on campus. The second day was primarily focused on green careers and student workshops.
     On the other end of campus the roundtables were taking place. The two days of roundtables focused on developing this Florida sustainability network into a strong alliance. We have found that even with our annual Sustainable Florida meeting (formally Sustainable Florida was a combination of both businesses as well as schools. This has just split into EASF as the school network, and Sustainable Florida as a business network), that it is challenging to keep a strong network across the state. Many suggestions came out of the meetings and these new concepts will restructure the way all of the campuses communicate and keep current tabs on sustainability initiatives.
     The main idea is developing a detailed website with current information on all of the schools across Florida. Including representative contact information and current events will allow people from all over quick, reliable information to our sustainability efforts. This is key in order to avoid "reinventing the wheel" which is a phrase I continuously hear at these environmental events. By having access to all of the information about projects you can learn about the previous success and failure stories, and how to learn from what other schools went through. This step helps avoid unnecessary problems.  
    Another suggestion moving forward is to divide the EASF network into North, Central, and South Florida regions and to encourage more frequent regional gatherings. These regional divisions will allow schools the opportunity to get to know the schools within their region on a much more personal level. This will also allow the opportunity to work with other schools more frequently because the travel will be significantly less expensive, and it is more convenient to travel around the region, rather than the state. This will also encourage tighter networks because more meetings will be possible.
     While the newly formed sustainability network was a major theme during this event there were other major topics discussed. Climate change, waste reduction, sustainable food, and funding sustainability programs were other major contenders for leading issues.
For more information on the EASF event visit- EASF Roundtable Event
    
     One of the major reasons I love attending these events is because it allows me the opportunity to show how proud I am of my university. It feels really rewarding to be represented at major conferences with huge schools around the country. This is my fifth year at UNF, and I have seen the school grow drastically since I arrived in 2006. There are so many initiatives going on behind the scenes that most students do not know about. There are also so many ways to get involved on campus (a lot of fun events, not all stuffy conferences). I am very fortunate to attend a university with so many passionate people working with the goal of Sustainability in mind. For more information on ways to get involved visit our website UNF Environmental Center or just feel free to drop in to our new offices in Building 1 Room 2200.

"No Impact Man"

Colin Beavan, author of No Impact Man is someone who I admire tremendously. His book, blog, and film all greatly affected the way that I started looking at the concept of Sustainability. There are so many important points that he raises throughout his work that constantly forces me to reevaluate how I am living my life. No Impact Man has been having a rippling effect around the nation and I extremely excited that Colin Beavan will be speaking at Florida State College of Jacksonville March 8, 2011. I spotted this flyer at a local coffeehouse and I am happy to be sharing it here on my blog. I hope everyone takes some time to consider these concepts, I am glad that I did. 

No Impact Man Website