Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

President
Barack Obama
Democrat

Contact Info

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

Email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

Website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president_obama/


Congresspersons
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Democrat

Contact Info

D.C. Office:
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3244
Fax: 202-228-2186

Metro Office: 1200 Washington Avenue South, Suite 250
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Main Line: 612-727-5220
Main Fax: 612-727-5223
Toll Free: 1-888-224-9043

Email: http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm

Website: http://klobuchar.senate.gov/index.cfm

Representative James Oberstar
Democrat

Contact Info

D.C. Office:
2365 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6211

Duluth Office:
231 Federal Building
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 727-7474

Email: http://wwwc.house.gov/oberstar/zipauth.htm

Website: http://oberstar.house.gov/


Governor
Tim Pawlenty
Republican

Contact Info

Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Telephone: (651) 296-3391
Toll Free: (800) 657-3717
Facsimile: (651) 296-2089

Email: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Website: http://www.governor.state.mn.us/


State Legislators
Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon
Democrat

Contact Info

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room G-9
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
Phone: 651-296-4188

Email: http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_emailform.php?mem_id=1061&ls=86
Website: http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_bio.php?district=07

Representative Thomas Huntley
Democrat

Contact Info

585 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
Phone: 651-296-2228

Email: rep.thomas.huntley@house.mn

Website: http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=07A


St. Louis County Board Chair
1st District Commissioner Dennis Fink
Democrat

Contact Info

Room 208
100 N. 5th Avenue West
Duluth, MN 55802
Phone: (218) 726-2458

Website: http://www.co.st-louis.mn.us/slcportal/SiteMap/HomePage/Departments/CountyBoard/tabid/554/Default.aspx


Mayor of Duluth
Don Ness
Democrat

Contact Info

Mayor's Office
Room 402, 411 West First Street
Duluth, MN 55802
Phone: (218) 730-5230
Fax: (218) 730-5904

Email: dness@duluthmn.gov

Website: http://www.duluthmn.gov/mayor/

Share and Voice: Erika's Spring Break Challenge

In case anyone didn't see Erika's Share and Voice: Spring Break post, she asked us to post a picture from our spring break. Since I was fortunate enough to travel around Europe during my five-week break last year, I decided to lay low for this year's break and only made it as far as central Wisconsin. I didn't really think about taking any pictures that were related to the environment, but I just remembered this one and it made me laugh:

The U.S. goes green!

I'll admit this definitely wasn't the original intention behind this - basically we just found that ridiculous Jell-o mold at a thrift store and had to try it, and we used lime Jell-o to make it green for St. Patrick's Day. Nonetheless, I think it fits the theme of this class very nicely as we all strive to make our country just a little bit "greener"!

Share and Voice: Clean!

How to go from this...



to this...



...in no time at all!

And the best part is, you can still be environmentally friendly because no toxic cleaner is involved!


So I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about, and why I have pictures of a microwave, right? Well, I returned to my house after going away for spring break, only to find that someone had definitely exploded some sort of tomato-y food in our microwave. Of course, no one wanted to clean it up.

Since we recently talked in class about our dependence on chemical products, I decided I wanted a "green"-er way to clean our microwave. Besides, it dawned on me that using chemical cleaners to clean a microwave is not a very healthy decision - I don't know about you, but the thought of chemical residue heating up and seeping into my lunch doesn't sound very appetizing.

Anyway, I found this great website about homemade cleaners and decided to give the microwave cleaner a try:

Microwave Cleaner
Mix 2T baking soda or lemon juice and 1 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for five minutes or until the liquid boils and condensation builds up inside the microwave. Wipe down.

This recipe worked like magic! I used to spend far too long scrubbing baked food off the microwave walls, but this made it possible to clean everything up in only a few minutes. And, best of all, it used baking soda and water - two INEXPENSIVE ingredients I always have on hand.

It was such a great feeling to know exactly what I was using to clean - no long lists of toxic chemicals. I think I'm going to try and make all my cleaners from now on!