A Printing Facility with Morals

So a few days ago I got an email from the editor of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s magazine, The Conservationist. I had interned there after freshmen year and keep pretty in touch with the small staff they have over there in Albany. The email was an invite to meet them and a few other selected people at Vanguard Printing Llc, right here in Ithaca! Obviously, as a journalism major, I am not going to pass up the chance to see the print industry at its best, so yesterday I headed over to the printing facility for a tour. The place was pretty great. I was treated like royalty (that is probably because I was with the editor of a magazine they were printing) and got an extensive tour of the whole process. Of course, I make sure I ask the normal questions any environmental studies student would (when entering a facility that houses storage rooms of paper roles) about their commitment to being environmentally conscious and what the deal is with paper recycling.

I was delighted to find that they run by FSC regulations. The FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council, formed in order to, as the website says, “change the dialogue about and the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide.” And although the FSC isn’t the end-all-be-all for paper rules, Vanguard does it’s best to make sure that they follow the standards, stating on their website the following two parts of the FSC system so their customers know just what this “green” printer is doing:

“Forest Management certification ensures that the forest is managed to high standards covering social, environmental, and economic issues… Chain of Custody certification traces the wood from those forests through all stages of processing and distribution. This is the certification we hold.”

Vanguard makes sure the chemicals used are aqueous based and basically all of the facility’s waste paper is put through a giant shredder, packed into hay bale looking squares and stacked to be recycled. It is clear to me now why those guys over at the DEC decided to print with them. Kudos Vanguard.

Obama’s “Clean Energy” Comments

To all those who watched the State of the Union address, I am sure that there were mixed feelings about what was said. He spoke on a number of topics, most especially about pulling us out of this economic slump we are in by creating jobs and tax breaks for the right people, or at least, that’s what I got out of it. But what really stuck out for me was his comments on clean energy. If you watched the whole thing, or even read the full text, “clean energy” was spit out in a number of places, on topics of every color. One of the first places it was mentioned was when speaking of how many people became employed in the clean energy sector within the past year and how he wants more people to be employed within this sector. I was delighted he did mention that more incentives should be given for those making energy efficiency a priority in their homes. Although, it was linked right back to those clean energy jobs. It wasn’t until a little later in the address that we found out just what kind of “clean energy” he was referring to.

“But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives,” Obama said. “And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.”

O….wasn’t expecting that. So the answer to our job crisis and clean energy crisis together is nuclear? I am not sure how I feel about that.

“It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.”

A double kicker?!

“It means continued investment in… clean coal technologies.”

O boy. I do recall hearing those words far too many times during another administration and not being to happy about it. Obama urged the Senate to be leaders in their work, to make the nation trust Washington again, to pass the energy bill, but with things like these, I fear it may cause other issues. Hopefully, the words “renewable energy sources” and “less dependence on fossil fuels” will be in his next address. Until then, I suppose we sit and wait, and although we might enjoy those tax cuts for making our homes more energy efficient and some might benefit from more jobs in the energy sector, we should for sure keep tabs on where that clean energy is coming from and the impacts that they might have. Just a thought.

And just to note, I have utmost faith in Obama and continue to feel that him sitting in the oval office is one of the best things that has happened for our country in a long time. I just hope that the clean energy sector is sincerely thought about and not pushed aside.

An Interesting New Year’s Resolution

Well, I am back to Ithaca for second semester and of course the first thing everyone does when they see each other back at school is discuss the holidays and their new years resolution. I did that of course, but one conversation struck me as different from others. A friend of mine told me about an organization called KIVA, that she heard about over the holidays and joined.

It’s a website where people from all over the world can lend small amounts of money to low income entrepreneurs across continents looking to start up businesses and practices of their own. Entrepreneurial sectors range from agriculture to wholesale. There is even a green sector! Basically, you choose a sector and are given a whole list of people looking to start up their businesses. You see pictures, their goals, and even little bios. I find that it gives not only low income people a chance at a better life, but allows those across the world to know exactly where their money is going and feel like they are making a difference. Talk about a new years resolution! Check it out!