It's officially Summer Break, and my nonfiction class that I had created this project for is over. Now the only question is whether I'm going to continue my project on my own. I've learned a lot over this project and I don't think that I can just return to living without thinking about how green my life is. I hope to continue posting green ideas and products. I haven't finished Gorgeously Green yet so I'll at least post until then.
But for now I need to get to commencement to support my friends who are graduating.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Condoms: Is there a eco-alternative?
Since my last post felt...let's call it "heavy," I thought that I would share an experiment that Dr. Getman of the Chemistry Department here at Northern Michigan University showed my CH 112 class. He began the lecture with, "Let's say you and I met at a bar and I'm a condom salesman, not your professor. So I'm taking off my Professor cap and putting on my Condom Salesman cap."
The experiment was two condoms that were filled and tied with 1.5 grams (g) of Ca(CH3CO2)2 and are placed in 100 milliliters (ml) of H2O . One condom is latex, while the other is natural condom made of lamb skin. After letting the condoms stand for 24 hrs, the natural condom is firm & bouncy (please envision a 60ish year old man bouncing this condom on the table in front of an entire class of approximately 200 students); while the latex is soft or "limp" as Dr. Getman adequately described.
Now one must be advised that latex is completely impermeable and the natural condom will be permeable to H2O. This is differentiation is due to the material used for the condom product itself. The osmotic pressure is what's making the natural condom firm and bouncy because it’s drawing in H2O from the external solution.
Now the purpose of this experiment is to determine if: the natural condom prevent STDs and/or pregnancy?
The H2O solutions that the condoms were submerged in were subjected to a chemical test (I have forgotten this chemical's name, sorry for my lapse in memory). The chemical (if Ca(CH3CO2)2 was present) would turn the solution white. The latex condom's solution had no reaction. The natural condom's solution had a cloud of white flourish as soon as the chemical was applied.
This means that the natural condom will not protect against STDs because virus sizes are approximately 30-700 A in size. Numerous viruses can permeate membranes, and lamb skin is a membrane (just in case someone forgot). Viruses can also simply leak through the pores within the lamb skin.
The condom will protect against pregnancy because sperm is too large to fit through the pores of the lamb skin and does not have the ability to permeate membranes.
Bottom line…use latex if you are unsure of your partner’s (shall we say) health. But if your both healthy and nature lovers go for the natural condom that is unless you're a vegan then latex all the way. Remember safe sex, very important.
This is why I love being a science major because my profs pretend to be condom salesmen in lecture.
The experiment was two condoms that were filled and tied with 1.5 grams (g) of Ca(CH3CO2)2 and are placed in 100 milliliters (ml) of H2O . One condom is latex, while the other is natural condom made of lamb skin. After letting the condoms stand for 24 hrs, the natural condom is firm & bouncy (please envision a 60ish year old man bouncing this condom on the table in front of an entire class of approximately 200 students); while the latex is soft or "limp" as Dr. Getman adequately described.
Now one must be advised that latex is completely impermeable and the natural condom will be permeable to H2O. This is differentiation is due to the material used for the condom product itself. The osmotic pressure is what's making the natural condom firm and bouncy because it’s drawing in H2O from the external solution.
Now the purpose of this experiment is to determine if: the natural condom prevent STDs and/or pregnancy?
The H2O solutions that the condoms were submerged in were subjected to a chemical test (I have forgotten this chemical's name, sorry for my lapse in memory). The chemical (if Ca(CH3CO2)2 was present) would turn the solution white. The latex condom's solution had no reaction. The natural condom's solution had a cloud of white flourish as soon as the chemical was applied.
The condom will protect against pregnancy because sperm is too large to fit through the pores of the lamb skin and does not have the ability to permeate membranes.
Bottom line…use latex if you are unsure of your partner’s (shall we say) health. But if your both healthy and nature lovers go for the natural condom that is unless you're a vegan then latex all the way. Remember safe sex, very important.
This is why I love being a science major because my profs pretend to be condom salesmen in lecture.
Shopaholic Intervention
This is the chapter that I have been dreading from day one: shopping constraints. What you buy, how often you shop, where the materials come from, how the item potentially to be purchased was made. Everything that I buy: food, cloths, books, online purchases, jewelery, electronics, etc. is now questionable to how green are the items that I buy.
I'm a college student, meaning that I'm broke. This daunts me! Organic food is expensive, Organic clothes (that look cute) are expensive, my Organic make-up cost me a pretty penny but it's all I've been wearing these past few weeks (and Mom helped out), Wal-mart's main source of products are made in China. Even before I started this project I understood that Made in China = sweatshop. Now Made in China = put back on the shelf no matter how cute I think it is.
We live in a consumer driven society. To deny this is like my classmate Kiah saying that she enjoys every minute of missing her breakfast just so that she can have make-up on.
I walk into Target and see the new spring swimsuits and instead of me walking away because I bought two last year (that still fit fine), I look and see if there is one cute enough to tempt me into spending $40 on a new one. Later I check the book and movie section to see what stories could tempt me away from being a studious student and into the slacker student. The Papyrus card section is another good time waster at Target; they are handmade, fair trade, and some are made of recycled paper. They are also expensive, $4 minimum.
Now because I'm a poor college student, it has save me from overspending. But when I do get cash I feel like it's burning a hole in my pocket. Suddenly it's like: OH, there's a ring that I've been wanting at the Silver Crow! or OH, I can go out to eat at Thai House because I've got spare cash. In a strange way, me worrying about my rent check bouncing save me from most of these temptations and keeps me from wanting to further my cash supply.
Going out to eat is an easy way to loose cash fast, and it isn't that eco-friendly: having one meal made especially for you (not a good use of resources) and the resources used aren't always certifiably green (even if they aren't organic, they probably aren't locally harvested either). Now I'm not saying don't go out to eat, just limit how often you do so. Going out to eat once a month is perfectly fine, and it also makes the occasion more of a treat.
In my defense about the ring (because I do feel slightly guilty about buying it and now I get to compensate with smaller grocery availability), it was fair trade made in the United States by Native Americans from out west. It was relatively cheap, considering how many responsible conditions to it's credit and I wear it a lot. The only negative thing that I could think about the ring is that I don't know where the materials came from and how it was harvested from the earth.
Every item I buy has pros and cons, and really it's up to me to weigh the options and judge how "green" an object is. This section of Being Gorgeously Green isn't about throwing away all my current clothes to get an entire organic wardrobe, nor is it about throwing away all my food (as few items as they may be) to replace it with locally grow and organic food. It's about controlling my shopping habits, to put thought into what I'm buying, to think about where I'm buying (thrift shops are perfectly fine, just because it's secondhand doesn't mean that it's not worth a look), and to begin to introduce items that are better for the environment into my life.
P.S. I am also aware that China isn't the only country in the world that has sweatshops, the United States has them too. We just hide them better.
I'm a college student, meaning that I'm broke. This daunts me! Organic food is expensive, Organic clothes (that look cute) are expensive, my Organic make-up cost me a pretty penny but it's all I've been wearing these past few weeks (and Mom helped out), Wal-mart's main source of products are made in China. Even before I started this project I understood that Made in China = sweatshop. Now Made in China = put back on the shelf no matter how cute I think it is.
We live in a consumer driven society. To deny this is like my classmate Kiah saying that she enjoys every minute of missing her breakfast just so that she can have make-up on.
I walk into Target and see the new spring swimsuits and instead of me walking away because I bought two last year (that still fit fine), I look and see if there is one cute enough to tempt me into spending $40 on a new one. Later I check the book and movie section to see what stories could tempt me away from being a studious student and into the slacker student. The Papyrus card section is another good time waster at Target; they are handmade, fair trade, and some are made of recycled paper. They are also expensive, $4 minimum.
Now because I'm a poor college student, it has save me from overspending. But when I do get cash I feel like it's burning a hole in my pocket. Suddenly it's like: OH, there's a ring that I've been wanting at the Silver Crow! or OH, I can go out to eat at Thai House because I've got spare cash. In a strange way, me worrying about my rent check bouncing save me from most of these temptations and keeps me from wanting to further my cash supply.
Going out to eat is an easy way to loose cash fast, and it isn't that eco-friendly: having one meal made especially for you (not a good use of resources) and the resources used aren't always certifiably green (even if they aren't organic, they probably aren't locally harvested either). Now I'm not saying don't go out to eat, just limit how often you do so. Going out to eat once a month is perfectly fine, and it also makes the occasion more of a treat.
In my defense about the ring (because I do feel slightly guilty about buying it and now I get to compensate with smaller grocery availability), it was fair trade made in the United States by Native Americans from out west. It was relatively cheap, considering how many responsible conditions to it's credit and I wear it a lot. The only negative thing that I could think about the ring is that I don't know where the materials came from and how it was harvested from the earth.Every item I buy has pros and cons, and really it's up to me to weigh the options and judge how "green" an object is. This section of Being Gorgeously Green isn't about throwing away all my current clothes to get an entire organic wardrobe, nor is it about throwing away all my food (as few items as they may be) to replace it with locally grow and organic food. It's about controlling my shopping habits, to put thought into what I'm buying, to think about where I'm buying (thrift shops are perfectly fine, just because it's secondhand doesn't mean that it's not worth a look), and to begin to introduce items that are better for the environment into my life.
P.S. I am also aware that China isn't the only country in the world that has sweatshops, the United States has them too. We just hide them better.
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