The smell of pizza and many helpful tips on how to keep houses eco-friendly greeted students in the Penguin Student Lounge on Earth Day 2008.
 
    The event that started at 11 a.m. was hosted by the Watershed Stewards and the Clean Water program. There were roughly 30 guests at the event.
 
    A slide show titled Green Cleaning was presented by Patty Page and Frances Foley, two volunteers from the Watershed Stewards.
 
    “Earth Day actually started in 1970,” Page says. “I hope in my lifetime we will care so much about the earth there will be no Earth Day.”
 
    Earth Day, which is held on April 22, has been celebrated nationwide for 38 years and has been responsible for many eco-friendly legislations.
 
    The presentation consisted of many slides describing household products that hurt the environment and suggested easier alternatives that save money and the environment.
 
    “There are many marketing ads that suggest their product is safe, but they only say that to save themselves from legal trouble,” Page says.
 
    Page then showed what the she referred to as signal words, which place the products on a scale from poison to non-toxic. She urged that students not use products that listed poison or danger.
 
    One of the issues they stressed the most was the Big Three to avoid: Drain cleaners, openers, oven cleaner and toilet bowl cleaners (acid based).
 
    “Freeze the grease, save the drain,” Page says, in reference to drain cleaners.
 
    The Watershed Stewards insisted that Borax, Baking Soda, environmental products and homemade products be used instead of cleaning products sold by large companies.
 
    During the presentation Page suggested that some types of products should not even be used anymore, such as deodorizers.
 
    “Asthma has increased 75 percent since deodorizers came into use,” Page says. “Instead use candles, flowers, oils or remove source of odor.”
 
    Some products that cannot be cleaned, such as car products, must be cleaned up immediately if spilled, Page says. She says there are no alternatives to car products yet.
 
    Many products were recommended to be taken to local transfer stations when used, such as lead and latex based paint. The local transfer stations are located in Washington at 11305 NE 117th Ave and 6601 NW Old Lower River Road.
 
    “We started doing these presentations a year and a half ago,” Page says. “People seem to know more and more as we go along.”
 
    The Watershed Stewards buy products from department stores to make their homemade cleaning solutions, or buy environmentally friendly products and re-sell them in cleaning kits for $15.
 
    “The money we make selling these kits goes towards the program,” Program coordinator Jennifer Naas says. “We don’t make profit.”
 
    The slide show ended with the quote, “Green Cleaners: Best for your Budget. Best for people, animals, plants, air and water.”
 
    There are 117 members and volunteers in the Watershed Stewards program, Naas says. “We’re really trying to get the word out about natural cleaning products.”
 
    Clark student Julie Nyukeyeva says, “I didn’t know about it, I just saw people here, but because I did come I learned lots of new information I didn’t know about.”
 
    Associated Students of Clark College Executive Assistant and Co-President of the Horticulture club Heather Clarno says, “We’re just proud to be a part of today’s event.”
 
    “Spring is our busiest time of the year,” Clarno says. “May 8 and 9 we have a spring plant sale.”
 
    “Maybe the Horticulture club can sell some of our cleaning kits as part of charity here,” Page says. “We really need to get the word out as much as we can.”
 
    “Our main message is to never pour products down storm drains,” Naas says. “It goes right into the creeks.”