Corbett Cares 4-H Club

Welcome to Corbett Cares!

admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:07:35 +0000

Welcome to Corbett Cares 4-H Club! Corbett Cares 4-H Club focuses on learning and teaching sustainability topics as well as performing related community service projects. The hope for this site is to be a place to share what we are doing with our club, our community, our country and our world! If you would like to add our web site to your facebook page or twitter about us – feel free from the below link or use the link in the sidebar! Check out our community service projects here or learn more about what we are learning about here!

Non-Toxi Clean

admin — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:06:49 +0000

Windows get dirty, but you don’t need to reach for chemical cleaners to return them to a sparkling shine. Use natural, nontoxic ingredients such as vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice to clean and polish windows. Chemical window-cleaning agents contribute to environmental damage and can contribute to indoor air pollution.

Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, household cleaners are the only household products for which manufacturers are NOT required to list all ingredients.

This makes it very difficult for the consumer to fully evaluate which products are the safest to use in their home. If the manufacturer does include an ingredient statement it is voluntary and in many cases this disclosure is inaccurate and incomplete. There are also about 9,000 chemicals on the market that have not been tested.

Making your own!

You can select here to download a pdf with a list of common household cleaners and their corresponding non-toxic, easy to make and refill at home ingredients!

Non-Toxi Cleaner for windows
Equal parts white vinegar and water with lemon juice to help with fragrance and cleaning power.

Common Ingredients in chemical cleaners

The below ingredients are commonly found in cleaning products. Listed to the right are some of the concerns and possible dangers of these chemicals.

Dyes - Have been linked to cancer, can be toxic to animals, slow to biodegrade.

Alcohol – Respiratory and skin irritant, flammable, can act as an aggressive solvent which may damage surfaces in the home.

Synthetic Fragrance – Central nervous system depressant, respiratory and skin irritant, slow to biodegrade, toxic.

Sulfates (such as SLS & SLES) and/or sulfanates – Irritating to skin and eyes, may contain 1,4-Dioxane.

Ethoxylates (Petroleum Based Cleaning Agents) - Ethylene oxide/petroleum based, may contain1,4-Dioxane, many pose threat to marine life, linked to cancer and sterility.

Petrochemical Solvents – Petroleum based, many are respiratory and skin irritants, toxic, may damage surfaces in the home.

Operation Lid Collection

admin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:25:03 +0000

Select this image to download all the details as a PDF, for this community service project!

You all probably already know that some plastics can be recycled. But some types of plastic are not as easy to recycle and are usually thrown away. For example, most single use plastic bottles ( like water, juice, milk and soda ) can be recycled but the bottle caps are a different kind of plastic, RIGID PLASTIC, and are usually just thrown away. Corbett Cares 4H Club will be collecting the listed types of HARD TO RECYCLE plastic lids and then our club will take them to a special collection center so that they can be recycled.

This way they can be used again and made into something else like playground equipment or shampoo bottles. Then this plastic won’t just go into our landfills or be burned up into our atmosphere. Plastic lids do not “break down” so they are not “BIO-DEGRADEABLE”. If plastic is burned, you also release harmful chemicals and a lot of these lids end up being burned in incinerators.

If you want to help, put your plastic lids in our collection boxes, start collecting them in a paper bag at home and then put them in these boxes. There will also be one in the grade school lobby! Corbett Cares 4H Club will do the rest.

Being responsible for our environment starts with just doing one thing. Collecting these lids is our “Dot”. What’s yours?

Select here to learn about plastics and their numbers!

Imagine

A line of plastic bottles going around the planet five times. This would be the equivalent to the number of plastic bottles discarded ( not recycled ) every week in the U.S… just for water. this is not including bottles for juices or sodas. ( data 2009 – http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org ) Imagine the waste created by all types of single use plastics put together, by all the countries in the world (the US is only 5% of the worlds population) including plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic utensils, cups, containers plastic lids and more. Iit is really hard to imagine.

We all can make a difference.

When we know better – we can do better. choose a better future by refusing or not using non-recyclable, non-biodegradable, single use plastics.

“Be the Change you Wish to See in the World.” – M. Gandhi

Reprinted with permission from Mr. John S. Pritchett

Sustainability refers to a very old and simple concept (The Golden Rule) “…do onto future generations as you would have them do onto you.”

Movies

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:47:42 +0000

A few movies I recommend :

…

The Story of Stuff
This online movie and any of the other short online movies found on this web site are very well done. ( Cap & Trade, the Story of Bottled Water, the Story of Electronics … )

Food Inc.
The single most important thing you can do for your family’s health is spend your money wisely on healthy and sustainably raised food.

No Impact Man
A group of us adults went to this movie in Portland and we all admit to enjoying the idea of this movie more than we could truly enjoy doing this. But the lessons are clear for all of us. Watch the trailer and you get the idea. We decided that, overall, this movie made us hopeful and happy.

Who Killed the Electric Car?
These cars aren’t for everyone. These cars can only meet the needs of 90% of the population.

Where are the electric cars for us?

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:52:45 +0000

The EV-1 was the first modern production electric vehicle from a major automaker; it was introduced in late 1996 as a 1997 model. ( That’s right… these cars were on the road over 13 years ago… ) and yet my husband and I have been on waiting lists for over four years to buy a plug-in vehicle and each year it turns out they still aren’t quite ready…really annoying. Stranger still, we have yet to receive a single follow up from a single one of these companies.

For mysterious reasons, the EV-1 was pulled from the market. GM not only discontinued leases on the vehicles, but forcibly removed EV1 from owners willing to outright purchase them. It was a bizarre death of a vehicle that, if it had been allowed to flourish, could have saved GM in the long run. So change, sometimes, happens slowly. ( It still happens though. )

You can learn more about this film by watching the trailer:

* UPDATE: We have reserved our place in Automotive history. We will be the happy and proud new owners of a Nissan Leaf this December 2010!

Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:43:19 +0000

Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization

Help ensure that the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act assures healthy food choices in schools by signing this petition.

“We believe that federally funded nutrition programs should provide all children with the healthy food they deserve. This includes low fat and safe dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Schools should be soda and junk-food-free zones and serve food that complements and furthers parents’ efforts to feed their children healthfully.”

Sign the petition here!

Cool Stuff

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:06:25 +0000

Our club performs community service projects that each member of our club comes up with. One recent community service idea was brought to us by Isabel. Her idea was to collect blankets for the Multnomah County Animal Shelter. Many of these animals would otherwise be on wire floors or cold cement. If you would like to learn more about our community service projects, please select here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:06:11 +0000

Recycle your old sponges in your potted plants. Especially good for keeping outdoor soil pots moist, old cellulose sponges make the perfect bottom component of planted pots.

Rinse the old sponge throughly to remove any soap residue.
Cut sponge to fit into plant pot, place in pot, then cover with potting soil, and add plant(s) and top off with soil. Compress soil gently with hands.
Water in!

The great thing about sponges is that they will absorb and hold excess water and slowly release it to the soil – so it essentially create a home made self-watering pot. The sponges also hold dirt in (for those pots with larger drainage holes). Plus, now you finally have something to do with your old sponges!

Plastics by the number

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:58:36 +0000

The Refuse Pledge

Disposable plastics are the greatest source of plastic pollution. Designed to be discarded, straws, plastic bottles, plastic utensils, lids, plastic bottles and so many others offer a small convenience but remain forever. REFUSE disposable plastics! Follow the “4 Rs” of sustainable living: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Take the pledge! Watch this little advertisement that gets the point across rather well!

Buried in Plastic PSA Plastic Pollution Coalition from Dianna Cohen on Vimeo.

What do those numbers mean, anyway?

Plastic #1 ( PETE OR PET )
This is polyethylene terephtalate, also known as PETE or PET. Most disposable soda and water bottles are made of #1 plastic, and it’s usually clear. This plastic is considered generally safe. However, it is known to have a porous surface that allows bacteria and flavor to accumulate, so it is best not to keep reusing these bottles as makeshift containers. This plastic is picked up by most curbside recycling programs.

Plastic #2 ( HDPE)
This is high density polyethylene, or HDPE. Most milk jugs, detergent bottles, juice bottles, butter tubs, and toiletries bottles are made of this. It is usually opaque. This plastic is considered safe and has low risk of leaching. It is also picked up by most recycling programs.

Plastic #3 ( PVC )
This is polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. It is used to make food wrap, bottles for cooking oil, and plumbing pipes. PVC is a tough plastic but it is not considered safe to cook food near it. There are phthalates in this material–softening chemicals that interfere with hormonal development. You should minimize use of #3 plastic around food as much as possible. Never cook using food wrap, especially in a microwave oven. If the wrap is listed as microwave-safe then I would still not let it touch the food while using it in the microwave. #3 plastic is rarely accepted by recycling programs.

Plastic #4 ( LDPE )
This is low density polyethylene (LDPE). It is used to make grocery bags, some food wraps, squeezable bottles, and bread bags. This plastic is considered safe, but is unfortunately not often accepted by curbside recycling programs.

Plastic #5 ( PP )
This is polypropylene. ( PP ) Yogurt cups and similar wide-necked containers are often made from it, as well as water bottles with a cloudy finish. You’ll also find it in medicine bottles, ketchup and syrup bottles, and straws. This plastic is also considered safe, and is increasingly being accepted by curbside recycling programs.

Plastic #6 ( PS )
This is polystyrene, or Styrofoam, from which disposable containers and packaging are made. You’ll also find it in disposable plates and cups. Evidence is increasingly suggesting that this type of plastic leaches potentially toxic chemicals, especially when heated. I suggest avoiding the use of #6 plastic as much as possible. It is difficult to recycle and most recycling programs won’t accept it.

Plastic #7 OTHER
This number basically means “everything else.” It’s a mixed bag, composed of plastics which were invented after 1987. Polycarbonate falls into this category, including the dreaded BPA. So do modern plastics used in anything from iPods to computer cases. It also includes some baby bottles and food storage containers which resist staining. Use of #7 plastic is at your own risk, since you don’t know what could be in it. You should dispose of any food or drink related product, especially for children, that is known to contain BPA.

To summarize, plastics #2, #4 and #5 are generally considered safe. Plastic #1 is safe too but should not be re-used due to the risk of growing bacteria. Any other plastic should be used with extreme caution, especially around food or drink. The risk is even greater when heating food. For microwaving in particular, remember that microwave safe containers aren’t necessarily healthy. They just won’t melt. In general, it’s better to avoid microwaving plastic entirely and stick to glass.