DUK...Textbooks?

DUK...Textbooks?!
As a college student, I've had to hand over a hefty amount of money over the most dreaded thing known to college other than fees: textbooks. Have you ever been in those classes where the professor spends about 20 minutes lecturing you on how important it is that you get the textbook? They tell you all types of things: if you don't get it, you won't do well, you invested your money in an education and the book is part of that education.
Then you buy the book and you find out you haven't opened the cover. Yes, I've been there. Frustrating right? Absolutely maddening! Why did I just spend $50, $80, $100, $200?!!! This was me as a freshman. Since then, I've definitely learned a lot of skills and tips when it comes to textbooks.
Here is a rundown of some quick information:

1. For the most part, the information between editions are the same!
2. Custom editions for your school is no different than the regular textbook!
3. International editions are the same.
4. Professors don't always know the difference between one edition of the textbook to the new one. They got sold by some advertiser.
5. Your school's bookstore raises the prices of those books to get a cut from it.
6. Textbooks that come with CDs or access codes cost more. If you're not going to use them, don't buy the book that comes with it.

Here are some tips to cut down your costs:

1. AVOID BUYING AT YOUR SCHOOL'S STORE!!
2. Always buy used.
3. Buy international!
4. Comparison shop!
5. Wait until the first day of classes to get the syllabus. Gauge from the calender and use your instincts to determine whether you really need it.
6. Check out your school's library. Often, they'll have a copy of your textbook or book lying around somewhere.
7. Share a textbook with a classmate. BEWARE: This might be difficult come exam time.
8. Access codes that are required for you to do online homework often come with the e-book already included.

Good luck!

DUK...Sweatshops?

I haven't done a DUK post in a while, sorry about that! I decided that this DUK post would be about sweatshops since I posted up that picture here.

The term sweatshop is defined as: A factory or workshop, esp. in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions.

The history of sweatshops in a nutshell?

It begins between the 1830-1850s in England. The concept of sweatshops was very appealing, cheap labor for very little cost. Often, the people who worked at sweatshops were immigrants or those who come from a background of being poorly educated. There are reports of several beatings of the workers if, for instance, they didn't maintain their quota of how many garments or products they must produce. Sweatshops started to exist wherever there was an industry for clothing in all countries. This was during a time when labor laws didn't exist to govern minimum wage and maximum hours. Eventually, government came to recognize the poor conditions and passed several laws. Later, companies moved their production factories overseas, to avoid these laws which required them to pay certain wages and limit hours in order to maximize profits. Nike, whom has the poorest record of sweatshop history, sell their shoes for an average price of $116 while the cost of actually making that shoe is under $5.

What you can do to help?

Be active. I'm not saying you have to start riots or write petitions, but what you can do is look at the labels you find in your garments. You know those labels that tell you what materials are in the garment and how to wash them? They also say where they're made from. The ever present "Made in China" and other countries give you a big clue that there was sweatshop labor involved. Try to buy "Made in USA" items, they will be more expensive. Since I, myself, am on a college budget, I won't always have the money to shell out for a simple T shirt that may cost up to $20 because it's made in the US. What I do instead is thrift. Logically, since I'm not buying items from the mainstream market, I personally am not creating a demand for such garments to be made. Items that exist in thrift are second hand and not only am I preventing them from going to landfills, I'm also avoiding sweatshops. So try these things! =D






Note: I keep DUK posts short and simple because they're supposed to be fast. They're meant to get you to think and research on your own. Solutions are from what I personally think and may or may not work.

DUK...Trash?

I know it's a strange title but the original title I was thinking of was too long to sound attractive! This DUK post is really about how long it takes for your trash to decompose.


I went to the beach last Friday as part of my birthday celebration. The beach I went to has always been nice but it started to re-invent itself. It also started to post up signs to educate their customers about how to keep the beach clean and healthy as well. The one that I came upon really inspired me to write this DUK post.

So the scenario is really this: You walk along the beach and you find plastic bottles and trash lining the waves that is lapping at your feet. You take a path to get to wherever you might've put your towel down to get a tan and see the trash a person might've left. You don't really think much of it and you keep on walking.

Here's the truth about the trash you leave on the beach [as told by the sign posted]:

Glass bottles takes 1 million years to decompose. 

An aluminum can can take 80-200 years, plastic bottles 450 years, and plastic bags 10-20 years. You know those cigarette butts you think that you can just bury away in the sand and it won't harm anything or anyone? Well a single cigarette butt takes 4-5 years to decompose. Imagine all of that on a large scale! How many years it might take for a single summer's day worth of trash left behind to decompose so the beach might return to its original condition prior to that day!

We also shouldn't forget other life that is disrupted by the trash carelessly thrown. In the ocean, fish might eat the small plastic parts or get caught in the plastic rings. These man-made creations can be toxic to the life forms!

Here are a few tips for your next trip to the beach to help:

-Bring your own trash bag or plastic bag. I know that trash disposals are so far and in between on the beach or it's a pain to go all the way to the sidewalk in order to find a trash barrel. By bringing your own, you can just dump out that bag in the trash when you leave the beach.

-Use re-usable containers. Every bottle of water you might bring and throw away takes years to decompose in a land fill! Even the plastic you might use to wrap your food in harms the environment.

-Do a good deed. Help volunteer to pick up the trash at the beach or do it out of your own initiative. The last time I went, I picked up a plastic wrapper for crackers from the ocean out to throw out.
Of course these tips can transcend the beach and into your daily life. You can use these tips at the park or even a walk around the city!

DUK....Debt Debate?

The National Debt Clock is a handy, but a little complicated, tool to visualize the US National Debt. I particularly like that it says that the debt per US citizen is $46,634! That's a lot of money!

Anyways, the news is all about the debt debate. I thought I would cover it quickly. The debt debate is about how the US government has reached its maximum amount it can borrow to pay its bills [such as pensions, government health insurance, and other fundings]. Legally, only Congress can raise this debt ceiling. Currently, a compromise is trying to be worked out between both the Republicans and [minor amount of] Democrats of the House of Representatives and the Obama Administration. But of course, these different political parties have different ideas of what to do.

It's very hard to kind of put what each political party is saying in a nutshell. Even each political party is divided. And every day, the new stories changes. Each political party has been debating on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling but merely a few hours ago, CNN has posted an article stating that both political parties have agreed, publicly, that the debt ceiling must be raised.

So in the end, where might this all be headed?

It's a good guess the debt ceiling will raise. Political parties are debating on a grand bargain package compromise consisting of a way to increase revenue and cut spending. Which is very hard to do because both political parties have different ideas of how these things should happen. For instance, some want taxes to be raised and others do not. Some want Medicare and Social Security spending be cut and others do not. Also another big factor that shows how upset American citizens are with the government is the lack of maturity. On the news, all it seems is politicians bickering back and forth with each other. They really need to put it together, don't you think?

It's all very confusing. As I was doing my research, many different news articles and reporters had different things to say. We'll need to see what the results are on August 2nd.

DUK...Locally Grown

DUK...that despite foods being organic doesn't mean it's fully environmentally friendly? It may be good for you, although some experts debate on this topic [if you're interested, Google the question "is organic food better for you" and you will find a myriad of answers], but it doesn't do much good for the environment. This is because companies spend a lot of money TRANSPORTING stocks such as the vegetables or fruits you might like to eat. What does transporting these things entitle? A lot of fossil fuels in the form of jet fuel or delivery trucks. And hopefully, we all know that burning fossil fuels is bad for the environment.

So the best solution to buy organic foods to support your body or your beliefs AND the environment is to buy LOCALLY GROWN. Not a lot of people know that there are plenty of chances for someone to buy locally grown organic foods. Farmer's markets are popping out everywhere. They open at regular intervals [say every weekend or every Thursday] at a certain place. Almost everything at that market is direct from the farm [talk about fresh!] and many farmers are known for their locally grown organic stock. Also since it's direct, without a middle man, it means you're getting these items for a lot cheaper than you would at Whole Foods Market or any other supermarket. Farmer markets don't just have fruits and vegetables, some sell oats as well. And other stands at farmer's markets don't sell food at all but maybe beverages [some of their specialty teas made from flowers is very sweet and potent] or even jewelry.

So check it out. Keep an eye out for signs around you advertising farmer's market. I'm sure you could probably check it out online too!

A New Mini-Post Series! - DUK

A new series of mini-posts! It's titled "Did you know...?", or otherwise "DUK?"

Essentially it's about little facts that may or may not relate to the challenges I do.

Here's the first one.

DUK... that although Earth is made up of 75% water than there is land, it is just as polluted as the air? What was once thought of an unlimited clean resource is now discovered that it isn't. Everything you put in your body and on your body effects the ocean and the eco-systems the live in it. Even the household cleaners you use. The lotions you apply, and even the medications you take, all leaks back into the water. Although it's been reported that the levels of drugs being in water system is too low to cause any problems, it's still being found in the tissues of the fishes. Antibiotics leaking into the water means that there could be breeding ground to foster a drug-resistant bacteria. The lotions and soaps can have chemicals that go into the water, which we may or may not drink, that can lead to chemical disruptions in our bodies. [Source1, Source 2].

Scary isn't it all to think about? Try to limit these things or try to control what you put down the drain.