Hot Cheetos...These Are a Few of My Faaaavorite Things!

            For this assignment, we are required to pick one food that we enjoy eating and find out what types of ingredients are found in the product, as well as where the product comes from and how healthy it is to humans and the environment.  One food (snack, really) that I love to munch on is Hot Cheetos.  Although I do not eat this snack too often, I eat it enough to wonder about its effects on health.  I realized that I did not know what most of the ingredients were in this product or whether these ingredients were harmful to my body.  After some research, I discovered that Hot Cheetos have four main ingredients:
 

·         Enriched Corn Meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, and frolic acid)

·         Vegetable Oil (corn, canola, soybean, and/or sunflower oil)

·         Flamin’ Hot Seasoning (Less than 2% of the following: maltodextrin [made from corn], salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, yeast extract, citric acid, artificial color [red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, yellow 5], partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt enzymes], onion powder, whey, whey protein concentrate, garlic powder, corn syrup solids, natural flavor, buttermilk, sodium diacetate, sodium caseinate, lactic acid, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and skim milk)

·         Salt

http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/cheetos-flamin-hot.html

 

            Of course, each of these main ingredients, with the exception of salt, are composed of even smaller ingredients.  The Flamin’ Hot Seasoning is a very important part of Hot Cheetos.  As mentioned above, the Flamin’ Hot Seasoning has many components that make up the specific taste of Hot Cheetos.  For instance, artificial color is used in the seasoning.  After careful research on Frito-Lay’s website (www.fritolay.com), the company uses “plant-based or synthetic dyes to enhance the color of some of [its] snacks.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating all color additives used in food manufacturing in the United States.”

            Enzymes are also used in the manufacturing of Hot Cheetos, specifically in the cheese used for making the Flamin’ Hot Seasoning.  Enzymes are added to milk during the cheese-making process to separate the solids from the liquid.  I was very happy to find that Frito-Lay cooks all of its snack chips in healthier oils such as corn, canola, sunflower, and soybean (which make up the vegetable oil used in Hot Cheetos).  These oils are lower in saturated fats and have zero grams of trans fat (www.fritolay.com).

            Hot Cheetos are made in the United States at plants throughout North America.  Frito-Lay’s main plant is located in Plano, Texas.  Frito-Lay actually has contracts with special farmers who plant and grow the potatoes and corn used in its snacks.  After the potatoes and corn are harvested, they are delivered to nearby Frito-Lay factories to be made into various snacks.  The farmers that grow the potatoes and corn that go into the snacks all operate within the United States, in various regions throughout the country (www.fritolay.com).

            A great initiative that Frito-Lay took in packaging its products, like Hot Cheetos, is that its bags are now biodegradable over time.  This means that if the bags do not find their way to trashcans or landfills, they will not hurt the environment.  In addition, Frito-Lay has implemented a partnership with TerraCycle, which is a company that recycles by turning waste into a new product.  Consumers can send in their used packaging, free of charge, to TerraCycle so the company can “upcycle” the used product into a new product, such as a clipboard, tote bag, or trashcan.  Frito-Lay will also donate $0.02 per chip bag sent in, to the school or non-profit organization of the consumer’s choice.  I am very happy that Frito-Lay has a corporate social responsibility in recycling for a greener planet.

            Based off of my research, I have concluded that although Hot Cheetos are not the healthiest snack to munch on every day, the chips are actually healthier than I had originally anticipated.  The healthier oils and fresh products used in manufacturing Hot Cheetos make the product a healthy choice if eaten in small quantities.  Of course, a balanced diet is necessary to maintain healthy living.  At least I know I can eat one of my favorite foods with a clear conscious, knowing it is a snack that is okay for me to eat!

Go green or go home!

For this week's blog post, I am to show how sustainable or "green" the Riverside Community College campus is, and show some other College campuses have gone "green" as well. In addition to Riverside Community College's campus I decided to research the campus of the University of Southern California or USC for short. USC's "Going Green" program started back in 2008 and is still thriving today. Throughout this weeks blog, I will be discussing what factors make USC a green campus as well as talking about how Green RCC's campus is and what I can do to either fix or improve the method used. Going green is the communities way of giving back to the Earth, this can be anything from using solar panels to reduce the amount of energy caused to produce electricity, to recycling more to reduce the amount of waste and pollution cause by the SEVEN BILLION humans walking the Earth. The amount of waste and pollution put into the Earth's atmosphere on a daily basis will have a long lasting effect on the future of the Earth and the way people we live. In this blog I plan to give an Idea of what we at RCC and other college campuses can do to be a little more "green". 



Solar panels are an alternate energy source

Some factors that we can use to determine how green the RCC Campus is would be to find out if an how much the RCC Campus recycles. Are there alternative energy sources like solar panels? Do we have a garden or grow our own vegetables? What do we do to reduce the amount of paper used and trashed?

One of the intentions RCC plans to pursue is implementing a going green culture and give seminars on the three R's (Recycling, Reuse, Deduce). This was to take effect as of the 2010 year. Rcc has been in partners with student activities for campus cleanup , making a garden and possibly growing their own organic fruit's and vegetables rather than out sourcing. Rcc has been involved with a few community gardens that not only help make the campus green but helps the community as well. Another thing the RCC administration has implemented is more online classes. With the use of online classes it cuts down for the need and use of reams of paper because most work is submitted online rather than in person.

RCC has a strong recycling plan and has followed this since 2009. A report in August of 2009 shows the amount of recycling RCC has done in past years.

Landfill Disposals:

• Trash dump truck: 131 tons or 10.9 tons per month.
• Greens diversion: 90 tons or 7.5 tons per month.

Trash Compactor:

• Wet & Dry trash: 390 tons or 32 tons per month.

Recycle:

• Cardboard boxes, white paper: 144 tons or 12 tons per month.

Information provided by (http://websites.rcc.edu/greeninitiatives/environmentally-responsible/)

RCC has met the minimal requirements for recycling and plans to improve this by as much as 75% in 2012. A few ways that RCC and the students can make this happen is:

 1. Converting our trash compactor to dry waste only.

 2. Less landfill disposal by implementing reduce, reuse recycling tactic.
 3. Improve campus wide recycling program to include plastic, aluminum and construction waste.
 4. Dedicate small dumpsters for wet waste that is considered contaminated waste from the cafeteria.



In 2008 USC developed the USCEI (USC Energy Institute). This Energy Institute was designed for a Student based function in which the students would come together to take charge on making the campus and possibly other campuses more green. One of the studies the students at the USCEI took focus on was different ways to make carbon-based fuels more efficient for daily use as well as promoting a more renewable energy source. USC has done so much to promote energy preservation the even host DORM ENERGY COMPETITIONS (prizes included for the winners). This dorm energy competition is a one month challenge in which two competing dorms measure how much energy they use, the dorm with the least amount of energy used wins, and everyone in the winning dorm receives a prize. The energy consumption is tracked through this website: http://myactions.org/. Through this website the change in each resident's habits can be tracked to see who uses what energy. Some more factors that show USC is making a difference in going green on their campus is:

 1. Using Organic vegetables in the cafeteria
 2. Building green houses for the plants
 3. Proper waste management and recycling
 4. Offering transportation (buses and trams) powered by natural gas.

For more information on how USC's campus is going green or for more information on how to participate you can visit their website. http://green.usc.edu/

My daily use of Earths resources.

For this week's blog, my class and I are to make a list of everything we use throughout the day to show the correlation between what we use and and the effect that it has on the earth as well as how the earth has effected the product.

A) Food and Drink.

Water

Orange (3)

Dr.Pepper (2)

Beans

Cheese

Torilla

salsa

B) Housing and other Buildings

My house

My work (Brothers Truck's)

My friend's auto shop (Toolman Smog)

DMV

RCC

C) Transportation and Roads

My Car

91 Freeway

15 Freeway

residentail roads

main streets

D)Clothing

Shirt

Pants

Socks

Shoes

Hoodie

Sunglasses

E) School Supplies

Folder

Pencils

Pens

Paper

Textbooks

Calculator

Ruler

Colored Pencils

F) Personal Care Products

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Shampoo

Soap (hand/body)

Deoderant

Towel

Toiletries

Mouth Wash

G) Leisure Activities

Talked on the phone

Used my Laptop

Watched TV

Washed my car

          Based off of my list I am to research one of the items on my list and answer some questions about that particular item and provide information that I was able to gather from my research. This information will include what the item is made of, how it is used, how it got to me, what will happen when it is no longer "useful" and more. The item I decided to choose is my favorite soft drink, Dr. Pepper.

Dr.Pepper pictured here:    

Dr.Pepper is comprised of 23 flavors as well as some other ingredients which gives it the delicious flavor many have come to enjoy. The ingredients in a Dr. Pepper are: Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup, Caramel color, Phosphoric acid, Artificial and Natural flavors, Sodium benzoate (preservative), and Caffeine. In some markets Sugar is used rather than High fructose corn syrup. Dr. Pepper is housed in plastic bottles as well as aluminum cans, which are bottled in Texas at the main facility. Dr. Pepper is used as a thirst quencher, and in my personal opinion the most delicious of soft drinks on the market.

The Aluminum cans that houses this nectar is made from a material found in the earth's crust. This material is called Bauxite which is mined typically overseas and shipped to the United States. The process of making Aluminum is a long and drawn out process which involves electricity "zapping" the refined powder Alumina (remainders of impurities in Bauxite) which separates the Aluminum from the from the oxygen. The constant electricity on the alumina causes the aluminum to separate and become a hot bubbly liquid until forming into large sheets of aluminum. More information about the Aluminum process can be found at this website: http://www.alcoa.com/rigid_packaging/en/about/making_cans.asp

When the product is used and becomes no longer "useful" they will either go to the recycling center or the dump. At the recycling center the aluminum cans are melted down back to liquid form, "purified" and reformed to its original state to be reused by aluminum manufactures. At the dump the cans remain in the land fill until being melted down with the rest of the trash, which no longer be reused. 

Dr. Pepper was invented and sold in 1855 in the state of Texas. Dr. Pepper was the invention of a man named, Charles Alderton, an employee of Morrison's old corner drug store. Charles invented Dr. Pepper by mixing flavor syrups together based off of the smells resonating from the drug store. This product is most definitely a want over a need, because you are not required to consume it to live, but consuming this soft drink brings an explosion of flavor to one's pallet that is extremely enjoyable. For more information on the history of Dr. Pepper you can visit the Dr. Pepper Museum, or its website provided here: http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/About-Us/History-Of-Dr--Pepper.aspx 

What surprised me about this product is the process on how the soda is provided. I had no clue that the aluminum cans were imported from overseas or that depending on the market this soda is sold in the ingredients change. I think what we can do to more conserve Earth's resources is recycle more often. By recycling more we can cut back on using Earth's precious materials for personal use on something that is not 100% necessary. 

 

It's Nice to Stop and Smell the Roses!

Normally I stay indoors.  Don't get me wrong, I love nature and the outdoors.  But who has time to "stop and smell the roses?"  For my Environmental Biology class I had to make time to do so for an assignment.  It was so peaceful to be outside, listening to all of the different sounds around me.  I was able to use all of my senses to absorb my surroundings, and my experience was very enjoyable.

Pebbles in my backyard

 Some of the abiotic things I observed while sitting outside were the air, dirt, and rocks.  Although people may take these aspects of nature for granted because they may not necessarily be visible or aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they all play an important role in the biosphere.  Living things depend on these abiotic aspects of the environment, and they interact with one another everyday.

Nice view :)

There were a lot of bees pollinating these flowers!

Some of the biotic things I observed included the grass, plants and trees, flies, birds, lizards, flowers, and insects.  I saw two humming birds, one lizard, over 60 plants and trees, and a plethora of ants.  I even saw a birds nest that some birds had built towards the roof of my house!

One of my favorite plants in my backyard!

Found this little guy on the side of my house.

Bird's nest!

This assignment really made me realize that there is so much going on in the world around us that we take for granted every day.  I am definitely going to make a better effort to explore my surroundings from now on!

My dog enjoying the outdoors with me!

My Ecological Footprint

After going on the website www.footprintnetwork.org/calculator I found out that we would need 4 Planet Earth's to provide enough resources if everyone lived like I do!  According to the pie chart, services account for almost half of my ecological footprint.  In addition, I rely heavily on energy land, probably due to my high usage of electricity and electronic devices.

When I explored different scenarios to see how I could reduce my ecological footprint, I found that if I implemented all of the changes suggested we would need only 3.2 Planet Earths to provide enough resources if everyone lived like me.  This is still a lot, but if everyone participated in these activities, the earth would be sustainable for our population for a much longer period of time.

Some of the suggestions for reducing my ecological footprint included using solar panels to provide most of the electricity for my house, purchasing products that use less packaging or that are made out of 100% post-consumer recycled content material, using only energy efficient appliances, and using public transportation once a week instead of driving my car.  It was amazing to see how some of these small changes could reduce my ecological footprint by such a substantial amount.

After taking the ecological footprint quiz I realized that I rely too much on electronic gadgets and gasoline to get places.  From now on I want to try to reduce the amount of time per day that I am on my electronic devices.  This even includes turning lights off when a room is left, and maybe opening up a window instead of turning the air conditioner on.  I also want to try and carpool more often so that I am not contributing to the air pollution from driving my car so much.  If I am able to walk or ride a bike somewhere, I will try to do so instead of driving my car.

This quiz was very informational and extremely eye-opening for me, and I am glad that I got the opportunity to pinpoint the ways in which I can contribute to a better Planet Earth!

Biography

My name is Tim Parks, and I was born in Phoenix, Arizona in October of 1987. I lived in Arizona for about two years before moving to Corona, where I lived for about 20 years.  In 2010 I moved to Riverside, where I am currently residing. I am a student at RCC, and I plan to earn my AA in Marketing before transferring to a four-year college to earn a Bachelor's Degree. I currently work for a classic truck company where I sell parts for Chevrolet trucks, but I plan to pursue a career in Marketing after getting my Bachelor's Degree.

One of my favorite hobbies is working on my truck. I have an award winning custom show truck that I have been working on for about four years now. Another one of my favorite hobbies is playing the trumpet.  I have been playing the trumpet for over 10 years, and I am very passionate about music.

I am taking this class because the current state of the earth's environment is something that really interests me. I also would like to learn what steps I can take to help the environment by eliminating some of my habits that may be harmful to it. A question that I would like to know the answer to pertains to the earth's population level. How many people can the earth hold before resources are depleted to the point that life can no longer be sustained?