Go green this fall in Tuscaloosa

It’s the middle of October and pumpkin season has arrived. Halloween is swiftly approaching and then, together, we dive head first into the chaotic, yet beautiful holiday season. It’s a season full of change, so why wait until New Years to make a life changing declaration?

I find that I lose myself most during this time of year because I forget the soul purpose behind Thanksgiving and Christmas: to be grateful. So, instead of just getting gifts for my loved ones and friends, I will be giving back to my community as well.

First and foremost I will be recycling. But before I tell you how I should tell you why, right?

During 2011, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) determined that Alabama spent $25 million to throw away over $193 million worth of recyclable materials. In 2010, the EPA MSW Characterization Study Report stated the total average daily solid waste generated by Alabamians is 6.3 pounds per person, compared with the national average of 4.3 pounds per person. Reason enough for me ladies and gents.

Click here to read more on Alabama’s recycling data.

 

It’s an old-school concept of giving back, I know, but it’s still one of the easiest ways. If you’re like me and live in an apartment you might have to try a little harder than others to help out mother earth. Unfortunately, Tuscaloosa’s curbside recycling service only pick’s up in residential home areas within the city’s limits; not at apartments or businesses.

No worries though, here is a list of places where you can drop off your recyclables for free around the Tuscaloosa city and county limits (map included).

Here is a list of items that you SHOULD recycle (each number gets it’s own separate bin):

1. Cardboard (empty and flatten)
2. Newspapers and Magazines (all types)
3. Mixed office paper (any color or type; staples are OK)
4. Aluminum and Steel cans (clean and empty)
5. Plastics and Plastic films (bottles, grocery bags, bottle caps are OK)

*Tuscaloosa will begin recycling glass in 2015!*

Fun Fact: Last year the University of Alabama recycled 2,106,966 pounds of items! I’ll roll tide to that!

Along with recycling, I will also be attending the local farmer’s market for the bulk of my grocery shopping. Help keep local businesses alive by supporting these local farmer’s markets:

Tuscaloosa’s River Market is open every Saturday from 7 a.m. until noon; located off Jack Warner Parkway.

 

Homegrown Alabama is located at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel lawn every Thursday, April 17- October 23 located at 812 5th Avenue, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 from 3 p.m until 6 p.m.

*This Thursday is the last day to attend the Homegrown Alabama’s market*

Get off the couch this fall. Take a break from football and spend the day making a difference in the world.

 

 

 

 

NNED awareness for young adults

Last Tuesday, Oct. 7, the nation celebrated it’s first National News Engagement Day!

Created by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (phew!) this day is dedicated to encouraging people of all ages to read, watch, like, tweet, post, text, email, listen to, or comment on the news.

 

As a journalism major I’m ashamed to say that I knew absolutely nothing about NNED. Shouldn’t I lose my degree over that? Probably… but it makes me wonder- What makes this day so important? According to the Pew Research Center’s biennial news consumption survey, 29% of young adults are deemed news less. Yikes.

That tidbit of information is a tad bit embarrassing and scary. If our generation stops caring about the news what will be of our country in 50 plus years? Imagine what our government could get away with without someone checking in on the people who make the important decisions in our daily lives.

After finding this information I wanted to seek out members of my generation who were showing their support for NNED and how they were achieving it. The answer was simple, social media.

Hash tags on Twitter and other media outlets were created to help spread the news about news day. Hash tags included: #NNED, #NewsEngagementDay, #AEJMC, #NewsUP, and even #BamaNED for my fellow University of Alabama students.

Visit the Twitter page for NNED tweets.

Students at Syracuse University showing their support for NNED!

Since I was so late in the game this year, I plan on celebrating next year’s NNED with more pizzazz. Thanks to Benjamin Mullins from Poytner I now have a NNED checklist:

1. Take the pledge to engage in NNED
2. Pinterest: AEJMC has a board dedicated to the many ways you can celebrate the news holiday
3. Read this List of Facts to catch on the purpose of the day and why it makes a difference
4. Follow and tweet #NewsEngagementDay to stay updated on social media

NNED was created by AEJMC’s 2013-2014 president, Paul Poindexter. Besides her name being totally amazing, she is also a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She wanted to set aside a day every year to “revitalize the public’s engagement with news, regardless of generation”. You can read more about Poindexter’s ideas in her book: Millennials, News, and Social Media: Is News Engagement a Thing of the Past? 

Well, there you have it. Whether you’re checking your phone for a daily weather report or hearing breaking news from your professors mouth at 8 a.m. math lab you’re still considered a “newsie”. So mark your calendar for next years NNED and help preserve and acknowledge our government’s watchdog.

Have a great day and remember to spread the news!

 

 

PSA for the parvovirus in canines

Meet Ice, our 6 week old Siberian husky who was the runt of the litter.

We purchased Ice from a breeder in Bessemer just last Sunday, Sept. 21 in a McDonald’s parking lot. The breeder informed us that he had just been cleared by a veterinarian to be re-homed. He was healthy, sweet, and very loving to me and my boyfriend. We immediately fell in love with the little guy and were looking forward to watching him grow. Unfortunately, our perfect puppy was just too good to be true.

Last Thursday night we had to put Ice down because he had an extreme case of the parvovirus. A decision that was out of our control and has left us frustrated and heart broken.

What is the parvovirus?  I strongly believe that if my boy friend and I had been more informed about this disease our puppy would have had a better chance of survival.

Parvovirus, or more commonly known as “parvo”, is extremely contagious and is spread through a dog’s feces whether through direct or indirect contact with the feces of an infected dog. According to our vet, Ice had developed the virus from the environment he was exposed to at the breeder’s home; which explains why this particular breeder wanted to meet us elsewhere.

Puppies are the most susceptible to the disease and will show symptoms 3-10 days after being exposed.

Treating parvo consists of the administration of a crystalloid IV fluid, administration of anti-nausea medications and injection of antibiotics. Time is one of the most significant factors in whether or not a treatment for parvo will be successful: The earlier the virus is detected and treatment begins, the better the outlook for treatment. Unfortunately for our puppy it was too late and the vet advised us not to prolong his suffering.

For Symptoms of Parvo in canines visit this website.

Treating parvo can cost as little as 500$ or upwards of 1000$ depending on how early the virus is detected.

Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine has developed a way to cut the cost and time required to treat dogs showing signs of the parvovirus infection.  Parvo treatment made simpler

Don’t let this tragedy happen to you and your man’s best friend by educating yourself further on this deadly virus.

Scotland remains in English arms.

 

It was only 70 years after Scotland lost their independence to England that the U.S. had gained their own. Our battle for independence was won with pitchforks and gun powder. Can Scotland gain their independence the less violent way?

Last Thursday, Sept. 18, Scotland held a vote to once again be separated from their neighbors from the South. Unfortunately for some Scottish citizens, dreams of being severed from the United Kingdom did not come true. It turns out, a healthy margin of voters said No to the referendum. The end results were: 55 percent voted No and 45 percent voted Yes.

My question is why now? Why did Scotland want to break up with England?

The United Kingdom is made up of the countries England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The countries are governed mainly under the Parliament of the United Kingdom but compete separately in national sports. Scotland and England have never been on good terms according to the history books and their rivalry has continued well into the modern era.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that England is peeved at its ‘friends’ from the north, but Scottish citizens are angry with themselves as well. According to The Wall Street Journal, Scottish citizen Susie McIntyre said,”The Scottish people got it wrong, the people who voted for the union—they should’ve taken the bull by the horns and stood up for what they truly believed.”

Senior politicians in Scotland are now waging a campaign to mend such divisions between it’s citizens and soothe resentment toward the British government. Scottish citizens had been separating themselves into ‘Yes Scots’ and ‘No Scots’ during the campaign for the referendum. A reconciliation rally will be held in Glasgow Friday, Sept. 26 in hopes gaining peace and sweeping this moment in time into the history books.

For more visit this website.

Mike Peacock from Reuters magazine makes many arguments in his article as to why the countries should remain together. One of which being England, Northern Ireland, and Wales would secede from the European Union if the referendum was passed. For more follow this link. 

 

iPhone 6 improves the selfie

Apple has taken the selfie further than the vanity gods probably intended.

Who needs to hang out face-to-face anymore when the new iPhone 6 advertises your pores screen-to-screen.

The company announced two new models last Tuesday, September 19. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6, together, will replace the iPhone 5s; which will drop the 5s into the free-on-contract slot. For more on Iphone 6 Details go to this site.

The iPhone 6 and Plus have updated to the iSight camera. The iSight features the on-sensor phase detect autofocus, which Apple calls “focus pixels”. These little guys will apparently make the new iPhone’s camera focus twice as fast as  the iPhone 5s.

The front-facing camera is where all the selfie obsessed attention needs to be appointed.

The camera has a new sensor with the same f/2.2 aperture that will  allow 81 per cent more light into the picture.  Apple also added features such as the Burst Selfie Mode which takes 10 photos per second and a Self-Timer Mode that gives 3 secs and 10 secs for you to compose your selfies. For more information visit this site: Selfie.

As the current owner of a very old and beat up iPhone 4s I will be purchasing the newest model soon. Those that are looking to buy it should expect it to sell out quicker than the other models. The phone comes in two colors: Gray and Gold. Gray is said to be the popular choice among consumers so far by Apple.

Walmart is going to offer iPhone 6 prices down to $179 and $279 for the iPhone 6 Plus. Compare that to Verizon Wireless’s prices of $199 for the iPhone 6 and $299 for the Plus; not including activation fees. Walmart has yet to post a release date for the product.