Take TRAX!

Hi everyone! I want to thank everyone that attended the University of Utah's Pace to Leave No Trace event! The weather definately could have been better for us, but the turn out was still appreciated! I want to post the information I was in charge of for the event, for those of you that could not make it, and inform you why it is so important to use Utah's forms of alternate transportation.

Utah, out of all fifty states in the US has the worst air quality on most days. Our bad air days far outreach those of most other states, including that of cities like NY and Chicago! If air pollution in Salt Lake continues at the rate it is today our beloved ski season will be cut in half within 12 years. Utah depends on those coveted ski seasons to bring in the majority of their tourism revenue annually. Below is some ways you can help out our local environment, and in some options get some excercise too!

-don't leave your car idling!
-Keep your car tuned up!
-Don't drive on poor air quality days! Keep yourself up to date!
-Carpool if you must drive
-Walk to lunch
-ride your bike to school or work
-rollerblade!

For more information on how you can help keep Utah's ski season flourishing, and help improve our planet on a daily basis go to www.cleanair.utah.org!

Cool new site!

Hey guys,

This is my post for next week, as I will be on a very loooong drive home on Monday, so I won't be able to post. However, I just joined a cool group called the Northwest Earth Institute, which has really cool things to offer. It is essentially a website that helps you become more Earth conscious, and more aware of the importance of your decisions daily! My favorite link on this website is the "Menu for the Future" link, showing us the importance of knowing where your food comes from, and what exactly it is you are choosing to eat and why it matters! If you have time, check it out. I know not a lot of you are "green" aware, but this is really easy reading and interactivity that can REALLY make a difference! Check out the site! You can find it at www.nwei.org

Carpool!!!!

Hey Guys,

I know I have mentioned the event being put on by the Parks and Rec department about 300 times in my blog, but I want to expand on what my part in the event entails. My activity is for the carbon emissions, and alternate transportation portion of sustainable living. I wanted to share with you all a few facts about carbon emissions, and show you why it's so important to try your best to either carpool, or take public transportation at every opportunity!

1. Co2 not only effects your lungs, but also both your immunity AND your reproductive systems negatively!
2. Carbon Emissions creates the foggy film over Salt Lake City known as inversion!
3. Too much Co2 depletes mass amounts of the ozone layer daily, ultimately effecting global warming
4. If we do not change our living habits, and continue pumping the same amount of carbon into the Salt Lake environment, our ski season will ultimately be cut IN HALF in the next 12 years!

Go to www.Rideuta.com to get a schedule of daily public transit routes in SLC, or visit cleanair.utah.gov for more shocking statistics!

Leave No Trace Event

Hey Everyone!

Due to the weather this weekend, the PRT department had to postpone the Pace to Leave No Trace event until Friday the 23rd of April. Please be advised the location will also be changing and continue to look at the event's website, www.lntrace.com for updates! You can also find us on Facebook! Join the group, and we will update you on any other changes! Thank you for everyone that supported us and our cause to lessen our trace on Utah's beautiful environment!

New Site

Hi guys! I know I have already posted for this week but I just came across this awesome website! It gives such awesome statistics, as well as such simple ways to lessen your carbon footprint on society! If you have time, or just bored in class at some time, please check this site out! Lets band together to ultimately protect the damage that has already been done to our wonderful environment! Here's the site! www.alighterfootprintfilm.com

Join Our Event!

Hi Guys! During spring break the Parks Recreation and Tourism department has been planning for our Pace to Leave No Trace Event! Taking place this Saturday, April 3rd at the Bonneville shoreline Trail right above the University's campus! There is plenty of opportunity to learn awesome things about the local environment, Leave No Trace techniques, and win awesome prizes...and it's all for FREE! Please come join in the fun with other University of Utah students, bring a friend, bring a pet, bring a family member! But don't miss out on this awesome experience! To pre-register go to www.lntrace.com

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

Hello everyone! This week I just want to share with you some very interesting facts on the recycling! Maybe, if more people looked at recycling in the ways that it can help, instead of an inconvenience, we would be able to achieve more, and in turn, save our planet! How many of these do YOU know?

1. A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. That's closed loop recycling at its finest!

2.Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.

3. If not recycled, An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!

4. There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.

5. We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum soda cans every year.

6. At one time, aluminum was more valuable than gold!

AND THAT'S JUST ALUMINUM! THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE STUFF THAT GOES INTO RECYCLING. PAPER, PLASTIC, GLASS!!! THINK OF THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE!

Come Join!!

Hi all! This post is going to be a short one this week, as I have been working diligently along with other University of Utah students on a sustainability project! All students are corgially invited to the "Leave No Trace" Race on Saturday April 3rd! The race will begin at Red Butte, and is only $5.00 to sign up, with all proceeds going to the Parks and Recreation Department's sustainability efforts! Please come join other students interested in education and fun, basing your time on saving our local environment!

Look out for the Company's YOU support!

I feel that everybody has 'sustainable efforts' in the back of their mind. Everybody cares...or should care...about their personal effect on the environment. However, how much do we really know about the companies and brands we support, when in reality their impact on our environment is much more vast than that of our own. Personally, I have done not as much research as I would like in order to fully understand my personal impact on the environment, and that of the companies I support. However, in doing this blog, and other projects for the University of Utah, I chose to look into some that I tend to use most often. For example, Pepsico...the leader in a lot of markets has some of the most innovative and exciting 'green' techniques being developed within their company. If you are interested in looking at the 2009 most sustainable companies, including top companies like Microsoft, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM you can find an entire article at www.sustainablelifemedia.com. It is important that we as a developing generation decide which companies are doing their part in saving our planet, and make sure that we supporting those companies, and avoiding those that are behind in their efforts. There is plenty of information out there available to consumers, we just have to make sure that we are doing our part to educate ourselves!

Sustainable Tourism Event Efforts

I am a member of the Parks, Recreation and Tourism department at the University of Utah. I am also a firm believer in sustainability techniques, and find it beneficial to be a part of events that hold true to that passion. For one of my classes, a group of students and I have decided to hold a "leave no trace race" on April 3, 2010. We are extremely excited to see what kind of turn out we can get, as the event is targeted towards Unviersity of Utah students specifically. In order to achieve the funding we would need to hold a successful, beneficial event we are proposing the the sustainability department of the University of Utah trying to receive a grant with a minimum amount of $1,000. We are excited to try and appeal to the committee of the University of Utah, and hope they will understand the type of time and dedication we as students are doing for our sustainability cause. I will be sure to update you as more information comes in for our event, and make sure you all understand what your part can be in achieving sustainability in Utah!

Opportunities Through the University!

Through the University of Utah's college of Health you can achieve a certification to become a certified sustainable tourism leader! One would have the opportunity to join in the U's efforts to accomplish sustainable tourism not only in Utah, but globally. I am planning on signing up for the program for Fall of 2010, not as a major, but as an extra certification! I also decided to go to the TIES (that I mentioned in my previous posts) annual conference in Portland, Oregon. They have included all kinds of workshops for students hoping to make a difference in our sustainable tourism industry.

Join Because It Matters!

I just joined the student portion of TIES (The International Ecotourim Society)! TIES is an international ecotourism nonprofit orgainization, specializing in educating travelers on travel behaviors that will better the environment. It is free for many to sign up, students even have the option of paying $15.00 to become a part of their job board. This will enable students that are passionate about ecotourism, or even those that are interested in making a difference for today's environment, to find either job or internship opportunities. Even if you're not a student you can sign up on the website as a traveler, the membership for this is also free. This will allow you the opportunity to understand the footprint you leave behind when you travel, and understand the ways that you can help the local community when you are visiting.

It is vital for those in Utah to understand the impact they have on our local environment...even if they are not visitors. Everytime you ski the Wasatch Front, or hike up Parley's canyon you have the ability to better our environment. Simply doing a little research on your options, such as on sights like TIES, you can make a HUGE difference in the way Utah achieves sustainability. Please check out TIES' website at http://www.ecotourism.org

Leaving a Footprint....

Utah, along with other areas of the United States have the opportunity to be a part of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). NOLS' purpose is to give you the opportunity to learn leadership skills, while experiencing and educating yourself on outdoor adventure programming. By learning about leadership you will give yourself the necessary skills to educate others around you about outdoor wilderness and adventure. NOLS is a nonprofit organization, filtering its benefits out to anybody interested. They also offer courses worldwide, welcoming individuals to learn economic sustainability. Organizations like NOLS are vital to the conservation efforts put forth by states as Utah, simply because it is an outlet to let individuals learn the most effective way to make a difference. For more information check out NOLS' website! http://www.nols.edu