Reflection: Weeks 8-14

I can't believe that the semester is almost over! For this reflection I will be talking about the different things that I learned and have had an impact on me for weeks 8-14.

Share and Voice

For weeks 8-14 we created posts that allowed us to be creative and post almost anything related to environmental health. I really enjoyed the share and voice and thought it was very educational. We could post things like blogs we came across, pictures that relate to the environment, websites, or pose a question. This was great because it gave me a chance to think on a deeper level and explore environmental topics/websites/blogs on my own. I also had a great time reading the posts of others and learning from my classmates.

Blogging
I didn't think there was anymore to learn, but I was wrong! I learned more about blogging and I know there is still more for me to explore on my own. One new thing that we did to our blogs was create an "about me" page. It was interesting to learn that there is kind of a guide to follow when writing the "about me" page in order to keep your audience interested and educated but not bored! This is a way for my followers to get to know me on a more personally level so that they can relate better to my posts. Another thing that I learned was about linky's. This is a way to share your post along with others posts all in the same place! It is like organizing posts into a one-stop-shop! Lastly, I learned about favicons and I got to design my own for my blog. This was something that I really enjoyed doing and for me it was a great learning experience. I never really knew what the symbol at the beginning of a web address was or what it was for. Now I know that it is a way to for websites to have their own symbol and use it as a marketing piece. If you think about popular websites like Facebook, their favicon is known worldwide!

Advocacy Projects
For the second half of the semester we started our advocacy projects. This was really a learning experience for me. We started by learning about advocacy, what it is, and using it in health education. I learned how to look for current bills, which ones have been passed and which ones haven't. For my project I looked at "Enhancing Liveability of All Americans Act of 2011 and really looked at air quality and how it can negatively affect our health if our air is constantly polluted. We also did some research on our political representatives which was a bit of a struggle at first but then I found who they are and who they represent. We did this so we could write a letter about the bill we chose and send it to the proper representative. I learned about how we can let our voice be heard and stand up for our rights!

My Junk Project 
We learned about junking throughout the semester and now we got to put our learning into action. Everyone in the class made a junk project and it was really amazing how people reuse different items. I have some very creative classmates and picked up some tips about taking an item and restoring it or making it into something new. What I did for my junk project was took broken hockey sticks and made a shoe rack with them. Our team breaks sticks pretty frequently and for the most part we just throw them in the garbage. I cut the sticks and assembled them into a shoe rack. It is currently being used at my house and we love it. There are 3 of us in the house from the hockey team and it is a way to decorate and store our shoes. My coach has been bugging me to make one for the rink so this is something I hope to do when we get back from Christmas break!

This class has truly taught me so many different things. I notice that in my every day living I am constantly thinking about environmental influences and how I can make a difference in preserving our earth. This class has made an impact on me and I have made changes in my life that I plan to continue even once this class is done.

Share & Voice: Christmas Tree Debate

Artificial tree or real tree? What do you have in your house?

In the holiday spirit I decided to look up some facts about whether to have a real christmas tree or artificial christmas tree and the environmental effects of both. This is a debate that happens every year around christmas time. What I have found is that there is not clear "answer" but there are some positive and negatives about both. After my research I think that going with the real tree is the better choice but I will present some facts and debatable ideas and let you decide. So what will you have in your house? Real or fake?

The Real Christmas Tree 

Negatives: The primary downside of a real christmas tree is the fact that they require repeated treatment of pesticides over their eight-year lifecycle. This means that they may contribute to pollution of local water run-off. This run-off water can lead into water supply's for local areas and end up in our glass of water! Another issue is the proper disposal of christmas trees. If trees are not recycled in proper areas they loose the value that they can bring to the earth when they naturally decompose and give their nutrients to the soil. Some people also debate that we kill trees to use them only for a short period of time and are taking away from our forest.

Positives: Besides the obvious and wonderful "christmas" smell that a real tree brings to your home, there are some other environmentally positive aspects as well. When we go and purchase our christmas trees from tree farmers we are encouraging them to continue to plant trees. The acres of trees they plant absorb carbon dioxide from the air, and soak up storm-water runoff which is full nutrient and sediment pollution, before it gets into our waterways. When the christmas season is over, many towns and cities have christmas tree disposals. This is the proper way to get rid of your tree (unless to took the roots with it and plan to re-plant it in your own yard) as they will dispose of it properly and let nature take care of natural decomposition.

The Artificial Christmas Tree 


Negatives: An artificial tree contains plastic and metal, both which are non-biodegradable. 85% of artificial trees are made in China in a factory and then shipped to local stores for distribution. This means that to make an artificial tree, a factory must be running (pollution) and then transported around the world (more pollution). Labor standards in China don't adequately protect workers from the dangerous chemicals they are handling.They are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is one of the most environmental offensive forms of non-renewable, petroleum-derived plastic. Several carcinogens, including dioxin, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride are generate during the production of PVC. Many of these chemicals have been linked to liver, kidney, neurological and reproductive system damage. There are even warning labels on the artificial tree box to avoid inhaling dust particles that come from the tree.

Positives: Convenience! That's how we live our lives right? Having an artificial tree is more convenient then having to go out everywhere and pick out your christmas tree from a local farmer. Researchers have shown that in order to lessen your artificial trees environmental impact you have to keep your tree for a  long time, 8 years is what one research showed, while another says 20! That seems to be reasonable because an artificial tree should last that long, and if you are committed to keeping the tree that long, then an artificial tree is the way you should go!

Sources

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-green-debate-on-christmas-trees-fresh-vs-fake/2011/12/07/gIQAk3mLjO_story.html

http://environment.about.com/od/greenchristmas/a/christmas_trees.htm

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/12/09/real-or-fake-christmas-trees-whats-better-for-the-environment/

http://www.christmastree.org/debate.cfm

Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official

Dec 11, 2011
Senator Al Franken
U.S Senate
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Vote YES on H.R. 2609: Enhancing Liveability of All Americans Act of 2011.

Passing the proposed bill will reduce the amount of pollution in our air and will positively impact the lives of all Americans. As a health educator and citizen, I believe that we can improve our air quality by reducing toxins that we as citizens emit into our environment. It is our way of living that needs to change if we want to breathe clean air.

The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution. Breathing clean air is a necessity in order to live a healthy life. Having poor air quality has many negative health affects that can impact us for the rest of our lives. Air pollution can cause skin rashes, asthma, cough and throat irritation, headaches, kidney and liver damage, cancer, nervous system damage, and birth defects. There can be some very serious health problems because of poor air quality, which means more trips to the doctors and an increase in the cost of health care. The US EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes in diesel engine technology could result in 12,000 fewer premature mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,00 fewer emergency room visits by children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions each year in the United States. If we improve the quality of the air we breathe, we will improve our health as individuals and as a country.

Opponents of this bill might say that it is their right to drive a big, pollutive truck, and use as much heat or water in their house as they want. They might say that it is the factory's that our polluting our world, but we as individuals are contributing to the poor air quality concern in the U.S as well. It is everyone's right to have clean air to breathe and have the opportunity to live a healthy life.

I hope that this letter has helped to inform you of the air quality issue the U.S is currently dealing with. I am asking you to please take a moment to think about our rights as humans to have clean air to breathe. The time is now to act and vote YES to H.R. 2609. I am willing to help in anyway I can and I can be reached at 555-555-1212 or by email at breatheeasy@cleanair.com for any additional information you may need.

Thank-you

Haley Irwin 

Share & Voice: Abundance on a Dime

As I was searching for ways to help me with my junk project I found this blog. I wasn't looking for a blog but rather a "how to" website to help me build my junk project. (I won't tell you what it is because I will save that for Monday!) I stumbled upon this awesome blog during my search. It is full of different ideas and suggestions from food to natural living to reusing and recycling! Perfect for our class :) I spent almost an hour searching through this blog and found some great environmentally friendly ideas! One post that I really enjoyed was called "Seven Natural (and Cheap!) Ways to Calm a Cold. I checked this out because it is now the season for snow, holidays, and of course colds. This blog is really cool and I would suggest checking it out. Click the link below to visit Abundance on a Dime!

http://abundanceonadime.blogspot.com/

Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

For my advocacy project I have been looking at the "Enhancing Livability of All Americans Act of 2011" (H.R. 2609) and have created a fact sheet regarding outdoor air quality.

Outdoor Air Quality Fact Sheet 

What is outdoor air quality? 
Outdoor air quality has to do with the quality of air we breathe when we are outside. The quality pertains to the amounts of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological matter that is in our air. When there is an increase in any of the harmful substances then the quality of our air decreases.

Where does air pollution come from?
Air pollution comes from many different sources. There are stationary sources, which are factories, power plants, dry cleaners, and degreasing operations. There are mobile sources, which are cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains. Lastly, there are naturally occurring sources such as windblown dust, and volcanic eruptions.

Health Impact of Air Pollution 

• Skin rashes
• Nausea
• Asthma
• Cough, Throat Irritation
• Headache/Dizziness
• Chronic Bronchitis
• Kidney, Liver Damage
• Cancer
• Nervous System Damage
• Birth Defects
• Miscarriages

Actions to Improve Air Quality 

1. Whenever it is possible: walk, bike, bus, or car pool to your location
2. Purchase fuel-efficient vehicles
3. Avoid Idling
4. Keep your car maintained
5. Limit the amount of energy you use at home and conserve water
6. Use environmentally friendly products
7. Install solar energy on your home
8. Recycle

Where can you get more information? 

www.airnow.gov

 www.epa.gov

www.lungusa.org

www. arb.ca.gov

Outdoor Air Quality can be in our control. Vote YES for acts that relate to air quality to let your voice be heard. 

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

For this project I decided to focus on the recycling and garbage disposal on our campus. I chose this as my project because I think sometimes our school does a great job of ensuring there are recycling options beside the garbage cans but then other times you can walk by 10 garbage cans before you find one recycling bin. I think another area our school needs to work on is having all recycling options together with a garbage bin so that you throw the proper items in the proper bin.

The first four pictures are from outside on our campus. In every picture there is a garbage bin but there were no recycling options anywhere to be seen.

The first three pictures above are garbage bins in our school with no recycling options anywhere to be seen. The fourth picture is my first glimpse at a recycling option. The issue is that it is only for paper and other recyclables cannot be recycled here.

Recycling options!!!!! The first picture is taken just outside of the gym and there are 4 garbage bins and two recycling bins where you can dispose your bottles, but please no paper?! Then there is a picture of a garbage bin and a paper only bin, but please no bottles?! Finally in the last picture there is a garbage bin and recycling for both paper and bottles!

The last two pictures are great examples of what our school can offer us in terms of disposing our garbage and recyclables. My question is why can't these options be all over our school instead of just chosen places?

My way of thinking is that where there is a garbage bin, there should be recycling bins (all options). If I am walking down the halls and I continually have the only option of throwing something in the garbage, chances are I might get fed up and throw a recyclable item in the garbage. Easy fix is to have great waste areas like the my last picture shows all over our school!

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Issue/ Bill
The issue that I am addressing is outdoor air quality. Our air is becoming more polluted in several different ways. What I am specifically addressing is the use of motor vehicles and how it is impacting the air we breathe. Enhancing Livability of All Americans Act of 2011 (H.R. 2609) is a bill that has been proposed to help address this issue.

Who is affected by the issue?
We as a society are affected the most. If nothing is done with the amount of gases that are released into the environment from motor vehicles then our society will have many problems. Global warming and not having clean air to breathe are the major problems. If this act is not passed then we loose. Although limiting the use of our cars (as it seems to be a major part of our lives) would seem like we are loosing, in fact it is the opposite. If this act is passed then we will gain from this because it is helping to protect the air we breathe. Car companies might be loosing if the bill is passed because it could lead to lower sales or there could be another bill about car companies having to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that their cars produce.

Consequences 
Society is most effected especially if nothing is done to help solve the issue of air quality. Sometimes it is hard to understand or imagine a world where clean air is scarce because as of right now we don't 'see' it. It is the generations to come that we need to start standing up for. At the rate in which we are polluting our world, it could be our kids or grandchildren that are affected by the actions we choose today.

Economic/Social Impact
If the bill is not passed the economic costs would be that global warming and poor air quality would increase and society would be the one's paying. If this bill is passed, this will help reduce global warming and the amount of carbon dioxide that is released. This will reduce the costs of trying to clean our air in the future, and now. Another costs is the bill is passed would be providing more public transportation and ensuring that all biking and walking trails are safe and updated. If the bill passes the social benefits would be that there would be less money spent on gas and oil each year. We would also benefit from having cleaner air and becoming a healthier society because we would need to find other means of transportation. At the same time the social costs are oil and gas companies as they would loose money as well as car companies.

Barriers 
The barriers to addressing the issue is that car companies, and oil and gas companies would be loosing substantial amounts of money. Another barrier is that we as society are used to driving our cars everywhere we go and this would be a huge adjustment. Another barrier might be that cities and towns would argue that it will cost them to provide more public transportation as well as having to provide sustainable modes of transportation. These barriers can be overcome through education. Maybe car companies can start to produce more environmentally friendly vehicles (I know this is something that has already started) to help reduce the amount of money lost. Educating city and town officials about how this is really a benefit to us, I believe would help overcome the barriers.

Resources
The resources that are needed are car companies to get on board and start producing more environmentally friendly vehicles. Also more buses for public transportation are needed. Another resource is paving trails for walkers and bikers and making sure they are well lit. Money is always a recourse that is needed to help educate society.

History
Air quality is not something that is new. There have been concerns about our air quality for some time now, and bills have been created to try and protect our environment. The Clean Air Act was created in 1963. The EPA, Environmental Protection agency was founded in 1970 and is dedicated to helping protect our environment and our health. There have been many strides to help protect our air quality and many more need to be made.

Allies and Opponents 
Society as a whole should support this issue but I know this would not be the case. I think those who live in urban areas would be more in support of this issue because I know that sitting in traffic is a concern that many have and this could be a solution. I also know that many people who live in the city are sick of looking up and always seeing this haze above them. I think that those who are more educated would support this issue because they better understand the impact we are making on our environment. I think gas, oil, and car companies would oppose this issue. For them it is all about making money and with this bill they could see a major drop in sales. I think I could create an environment where everyone wants to get on board by first educating them. Then I would show the companies what they can do so that they won't loose as much money (producing environmentally friendly vehicles).

My Recommendation 
I vote yes for this bill. Air quality is something we should all be concerned about and this bill is trying to ensure that not only will we have clean air to breathe, but also our children and generations to come.

Share & Voice: Personal Experience at Scandic Hotels

For this share and voice I wanted to talk about a recent experience I had while I was in Sweden. Since I have enrolled in this class I have started to take more notice about environmental issues, concerns, and what others are doing to help our environment. Staying in European hotels can sometimes be an adventure and with this stay I learned about different ways that Scandic Hotels are trying to be environmentally friendly.

The first thing I notice when I walk into the hotel room is the size difference compared to the typical American hotel room. The beds are is if they are one, that's how close they are. Of course we try and separate them as much as we can because that is the way we are use to sleeping. The reason I bring this up is because I began to think if our hotel rooms here in North America are really much bigger then we need. Do we really need our hotel rooms to be that big? The rooms that I have stayed in while in Europe are about half the size of those I have stayed in anywhere else in the world. Although the rooms are smaller, they don't try and cram more rooms into one hotel. They are usually 4 floors with about 30 rooms on a floor. What does this have to do with the environment? I began to think that when the rooms are smaller the amount of heat that is needed to warm the room is much less then if the room was bigger. Perhaps this is there way of trying to save on heat. Although I could not find this to be a fact on Scandic Hotels website, I think there is an environmental reason behind it.

Another thing that I noticed when I walked in the room is that you must put your key card in a slot (just to the side of the door) in order to turn on the lights! This is such a great idea. Many times when we leave our hotel rooms we leave the lights on because we won't see the electric bill right? Having to put your key card in this slot means that when you leave your room, you will take your key with you and automatically all lights and power sources will be turned off. This also includes any appliance that you may have plugged in to charge. You won't forget your key or else you won't be getting back into your room. Of course you can get a new key at the front desk but I can bet this won't be a habit throughout your trip! I really enjoyed this concept and think this is something North American hotels should start doing.

Now that I am on the topic of room keys, I read the back of mine and read something that I thought was great. The key cards are made out of sustainable wood, which is a cost-effective and reliable green alternative to plastic. I decided to research this a bit more and found out more about this product. I visited Sustainable Cards, which makes the room keys that Scandic Hotels use. Manufacturing wooden cards use about 1/3 of the electricity that it takes to make plastic cards. This was such a great website and I would recommend visiting this website to learn more about why using these key cards are better for our environment.

I was truly amazed and excited about the way Scandic Hotels is trying to be environmentally friendly. Here is a list of environmentally friendly things they do:

• Stopped using all single-use disposable packages
• Soap dispensers in the rooms and public toilets
• Use Swan eco-labelled serviettes 
• Have an environmentally aware towel and bedding policy
• Always use low-energy bulbs where possible
• Control the water flow in the toilets, showers, and taps
• Choose energy from renewable sources
• Use the room key to control lighting
• Breakfast buffet offeres several ecological choices
• Do not serve food containing genetically modified organisms (GMO)
• Choose environmentally aware suppliers

You can find more information about their environmentally friendly choices by clicking this link: Scandic Hotels. This class has truly been life changing. A year ago, I would have never noticed the environmentally friendly things that the hotel I was staying at was doing. Now, I am more conscious and more aware about my environment. 

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Healthy People 2020

Outdoor Air Quality 

Objective- Increase use of alternative modes of transportation for work  (EH-2)

Sub-Objective- Trips made by bicycling (EH-2.1)

Target- 0.6%

Baseline- 0.5% of trips were made to work via bicycle in 2008. 

THOMAS

H.R.2609

Title- Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2011

Sponsor: Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] (introduced 7/21/2011)   

Cosponsors: (2) Rep Blymenauer, Earl [OR-3] and Rep Connolly, Gerald. E [VA-11] 

Latest Major Action: 7/22/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status- Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. 

Recommendation: Vote Yes to Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2011

My Political Representatives: 

Share & Voice: Pictures from Switzerland

I have had the opportunity to travel to many different places around the world through hockey. I play on the National Team (Canada) and we travel a lot for different tournaments. I have been to places like Finland, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, many places in the U.S and in Canada. What inspired this blog is the fact that I am currently in Sweden for the 4 Nations Cup Tournament and decided I wanted to share some pictures from when I was in Switzerland back in March. When I was packing for that trip I thought winter clothes because there was still snow in the ground in Duluth when I left. Turns out it was pretty much summer in Switzerland. It was absolutely beautiful and very hot out....to the point that I got burnt one day! Here are some pictures of the pictures from Switzerland.

This is a picture of Rhine Falls in Switzerland. On one of our days off they took us to see these falls and they were beautiful. We climbed to the top where there is a look out, and to see the power of the water was amazing. 

This is a picture of a cave that we walked through to get to the bottom of Rhine Falls. It was a really cool cave and I enjoyed the feeling I got from the natural rock and natural environment from being at the falls that day.

Here I am in Zurich. We went sight seeing one day and found this amazing view! You can look down the the Limmat River and what a beautiful day and scene it was. Where I am standing, there was a beautiful park with the greenest grass and life size chess games everywhere. The pieces for the game were almost as tall as us and it seemed like the locals would meet there to play some friendly matches against each other. 

Here are some of the building in Switzerland. I really love the atmosphere in Europe. Switzerland had some really beautiful buildings and the architect in Europe is like no where else. 

This is a picture I took one day when I was walking. As you can see the spaces between the buildings is very small as I can reach my arms across and touch both buildings. The roads in Europe are usually very narrow and barely enough room for two cars. I love the brick roads in Europe and the atmosphere it creates.

Here is the last picture I want to share with you. Yes, that is a real car! We walked by it and I was so intrigued. We checked it out and peeked inside. It is an electric car that can seat two people including the driver. The passenger seat faces out the back window! One thing I notice in Europe is that there are no big SUV's like there are in North America. Many people take public transportation or bike. There were tons of bikes everywhere I went and what I noticed in Switzerland is that most of the bikes were not locked up.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my trip to Switzerland. I have been there twice. The first time the Swiss Alps were very close, opening our blinds in the morning and looking out at the mountains is breath taking. The second time I was in Zurich, which is where the pictures are from. Each time I saw a different aspect of Switzerland and I love it. I would recommend it as a destination for those that like to travel. 

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

For this assignment we have been asked to identify our political representatives. Being Canadian this assignment took me in a couple directions and wasn't sure exactly what I should do. At first I started out by looking for my Canadian political representatives but with our government being different I decided to look at the representatives for where I am living while in the States. I really had know idea so it took more research for me so I could better understand what I was looking for. The following representatives are for Duluth, MN, my current city in the United States.

President

 Barack Obama

Democrat

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

OR Call

202-456-1111(comments)

202-456-2461 (fax) 

Congressmen 

Amy Klobuchar 

U.S Senate

Democrat

http://klobuchar.senate.gov/

302 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

OR Call

202-224-3244 (phone)

202-228-2186 (fax)

Al Franken

U.S Senate 

Democrat

http://franken.senate.gov/

309 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

OR Call

202-224-5641

Chip Cravaack

U.S House

Republican

http://cravaack.house.gov/

508 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Or Call

202-225-6211(phone) 

202-225-0699 (fax)

State Legislators 

Mary Murphy

MN House

Democrat

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10444

343 State Office Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

Or Call

651-296-2676

800-890-5428 (toll free)

Or Email

rep.mary.murphy@house.mn

Thomas Bakk

MN Senate

Democrat

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/members/member_bio.php?district=06

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

State Office Building, Room147

St. Paul, MN 55155-1206

Or Call

651-296-8881

Governor 

Mark Dayton

Democrat

http://mn.gov/governor/

Office of the Governor

130 State Capitol

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

Or Call

651-201-3400

800-657-3717 (toll free)

651-797-1850 (fax) 

Reflection: Weeks 1-7

Blogging 

Through my environmental class I have learned a lot about blogging. I had no idea what blogging was really even about, but I learned quickly. I learned about the behind the scenes work that goes into a blog. Simple things like layout, posting, labels, and how to set up a blog. Then I learned more about blogging etiquette and how to truly make a blog your own. We have learned more and more tricks along the way and more recently I made a favicon. I think it is really cool because I didn't know that's what the symbol at the beginning of web addresses was, but now I do and now I have my own. I have to say that I do enjoy blogging and have even visited other blogs that are not required in the class. I think this might be something I will really get into once I am done college!

Films in Class

This class has truly opened up my eyes about many different aspects of our environment. Over the past few weeks we have watched a few different movies. These movies are one's that I wish everyone around the world could watch. They are truly inspiring and educational. They make me want to change so many things in my life and the choices I make. One of the films we watched was called "Fresh". It discussed things like food contamination, environmental pollution, and depletion of natural resources. The main idea was how over the years, agriculture has turned into an industrial model. We have changed the way our food is grown and processed and I think we are feeding ourselves all the wrong things. Another movie we watched was called "Green"and this movie shocked me! The documentary talks about 150 petrochemical plants that run along the Mississippi river and how these chemical plants have caused major health concerns for those who live near them. One area has been given the name "cancer alley", and listening to the stories is heartbreaking. So many families are suffering from the pollution that these petrochemical plants produce. The last film that I want to talk about is called "Tapped". This documentary discusses the bottled water industry and asks the question whether access to clean water is a human right or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other product. Ultimately companies are going into communities, pumping their tap water into their trucks then bottling it and selling it back to the communities. This is something that I disagree with completely. It is our tap water and companies shouldn't be allowed to put it in a bottle and sell it. Along with this issue is the fact that the empty bottles are ending up in the ocean and polluting our earth. The movies that I have watched in class are truly inspirational to really start to stand up for our rights and take the term "vote with your dollar" seriously. We as consumers have the choice to not buy certain products and in order to let our voices be heard, we need to start to do this. 

Other Topics

After every film we discuss our thoughts about it and how we as consumers can make a difference. Education! Most consumers don't truly understand what they are buying, where it comes from, or how it is made. It is up to us to educate ourselves about what we buy everyday. It won't be on the label, they won't promote the 'bad' in a product, so we have to make the decision to want to get to know what is truly in our baskets. 

We have also talked about other topics that impact our environment. Recently we discussed antiquing and junking. Sounds like trash? Think again! We discussed different ways that we can reuse old items and recycle many different things from one individual to another. Many items that we throw in the garbage could be something that another person could use. It is society's way of recycling. We need to learn how to do this much better as a society because our beautiful land is turning into a dump. Protect our earth, because we only have one! 

The Impact on Me

I could write so much about what I have learned so far in this class. I want to share with you a few of the things I have learned and have implemented them in my life. The first thing is changing a lifestyle to help reduce my ecological footprint. Over five week I challenged myself to turn off the lights in my bedroom every time I left my room. At first it was a struggle but now it is a part of my life. Such a simple thing, yet something that can have a huge environmental impact. Another thing that I have learned through the films is to read labels and learn more about what I buy. Now when I go to the grocery store I am more aware of what I put in my cart and I read the labels. I am making better choices in the food I buy and I am voting with my dollar. Another change I have made is using reusable bags. I was reading a classmates blog and that was her challenge over five weeks. After reading her blogs and learning about how harmful plastic bags can be, I now use reusable bags! We are half way through this class and I can't wait to learn more about how I can make a difference in preserving our environment. 

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part 1

Defined Terms:
Antique- An antique is an old collectable item that represents a previous period of time in society. The reason why it is considered to be a collectable item is because of its age, beauty, condition, or unique feature. Antiquing is the act of collecting these items and using them as a decorative/ art technique.

Junking- This is the retrieval of ordinarily discarded things and materials. It is a way of redefining the usage of things, and a way of cleaning up our polluted earth! Junk is something that one person throws away as something that they no longer want and junking is when someone else uses another person’s “junk”.

Flea market- is a place, indoors or outdoors, where inexpensive or second hand goods are sold. Many times this is where people will bargain the price down. Flea-market vendors might me families that are selling unwanted items or a commercial operation that include new or used merchandise.

Thrift Shop (may also be known as a charity shop)- is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. They usually sell second-hand goods that have been donated by individuals in the public, and are staffed by volunteers. This is not a place that is trying to make money as a “business”. They use the money to pay for business costs (such as clothing racks, counters) and then the rest is used for the organization’s charitable purpose. 

Upcycling- is taking something that you would otherwise throw out and finding a way to make it into something else. It is taking waste and making it into something that has equal or greater use value; improving the quality of the material. An example could be taking an old sweater that can no longer be worn, and turning it into a purse.

Resale Shop- A place where they sell gently used goods. They buy their merchandize outright from individual owners. Sometimes a profit goes to a charity but it is different from a thrift shop as it differs in the percentage given (if any at all). Examples in Duluth would be Plato’s closet, Savers, or Goodwill.

What do the terms above have to do with environmental health?
At first the terms above might not seem like they have anything to do with environmental health, but they all do! They are all environmentally friendly ideas because they have to do with the concept of reusing items or materials. If antiquing or thrift stores didn't exist then our landfills would be filled with even more 'garbage'. All of the terms are our society's way or recycling items from one individual to another. One person's junk may be another person's art piece on their wall. If we can take the terms defined above and use them in our everyday decisions, we will be eliminating garbage that pollutes our earth!

Part 2
Identify at least one local resource for each of the terms above...provide name, location, contact information, and website or blog. 

• Antiques: Chester Creek Books and Antiques, 1333 East Superior St. Duluth, MN, 218-724-4427 or otabooks@gmail.com 
• Junking: Old Town Antiques and Books, 102 E Superior St. Duluth, MN, 218-722-5426
• Flea Market: Studebaker Drivers Club Swap Meet Flea Market & Classic Car Show, Lake Superior College 2101 Trinity Rd, Stude.one@usfamily.net
• Thrift Shop: Goodwill,  700 Garfield Av. Duluth, MN, 218-722-3050
• Upcycling: I could not find a specific location in duluth but anyone could do this in their own homes!
• Resale Shop: Plato's Closet, Tree Road, Suite 315C. Duluth, MN, 218-733-9455

Identify whether you do any or use any of these things. Why or Why not?

I can't say that I collect or use antiques or that I have ever tried junking at this point in my life. I have just never though about doing this before, but once I am done College and looking for my first real house, this is something I would love to do. I have never tried upcycling and maybe this has to do with my creative side not being so great. Maybe this is something I can try in my future. This summer I went to a flea market back home in Canada. It was my first experience and I had a lot of fun. You can find some great deals and the atmosphere was great. I bought some local fruit that day and it was delicious. I donate my old clothes on a regular basis. I usually do this in the summer when I am back home and have gone through all of my things. I give mine to the Diabetes Association and they even come pick it up at my house! I have been to Plato's closet a couple times but have not bought anything, only because I didn't find anything I needed. I love the idea of stores like Plato's closet and my roommates and I are planning a shopping trip there this week! 

Part 3

Get your Junk on! Visit JunkMarketStyle.com and find three projects that inspire you or that you simply find cool. 

1. Happy Father’s Day Eve- I chose this cool project because for many kids, this would be a fun and awesome gift to give their dads. Taking an old bottle and making it their own, by adding their picture and turning it into a vase to give on father’s day! Very cool!
2. My ‘White Trash’ Bedroom- I don’t know if I would ever have the guts to re-do my entire room with a budget of $0 and using the concept of junking. That is exactly what they did! Their entire bedroom is ‘junk’ but looking at the picture it looks really well done and like a really cool place to hang out! 
3. A Reel Bird Feeder- For the project, they took an old movie reel and put in on a stand to make a bird feeder. It looks really cool but when I saw it I thought I would use that as a serving tray for guests (humans not birds). I know it was made for the birds, but I thought of different ways I would use something like that! Creative! 

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review & Overall Project Relfection

Weekly Review 

This week I was successful in achieving My SMART goal, which is turning off my lights every time I leave my bedroom.

I think I can safely say that my SMART goal has turned into a habit! I don't think about it as a chore, or an obstacle, instead it is something that I do on a regular basis. A piece of advice that was given to me a couple of weeks ago was to be patient as it takes 3 weeks for a change to become a habit. I took the advice of being patient, stuck with my goal, and I am now turning off my lights on a regular basis!

I am very excited and happy that over the last few weeks, what started out to be a challenge is now something that I have conquered and made a part of my daily routine. I never really thought that turning off my bedroom lights was going to be a challenge or that successfully completing the challenge was going to make me feel so good! What I learned this week is that if you stick to your goal and be patient, then changing a simple lifestyle can truly happen. 

A couple weeks ago, I added the challenge of turning off the power bar in my room whenever it is not being used. This week I did ok with the challenge but not great. I turned it off about 60% of the time. I noticed that when I leave for school and have to unplug something then I would remember to turn it off, but the challenge I faced was that I forgot to turn it off if I didn't need to unplug something from the power bar. Although I had a rough week with this challenge, I want to continue to challenge myself because power bars can really suck up energy.

Review of Entire Process 

My SMART goal remained the same over the last 5 weeks, but I did add a challenge as I was becoming more successful with my goal. I added this challenge at about the half way mark of this 5 week lifestyle change process. Although my SMART goal is something that I have successfully made a new habit, the challenge that I made for myself is not there yet. Turning off my power bar in my room whenever it is not being used is something that I will continue to try and make a habit, just like I did with my SMART goal of turning off my bedroom lights whenever I leave my room!!!!!

The challenges that I faced throughout this process was remembering to turn off my lights when I got busy or stressed. I noticed early on that whenever I was in a rush or my mind was preoccupied with who knows what, then that's when I would leave my lights on. Noticing the obstacle that got in my way of being successful allowed me to realize that I needed to slow down, think before leaving, and remind myself of what I was really supposed to be doing in that moment. Taking a few moments to just think and take a breath is a strategy that I will continue to use in the future.

Taking on a lifestyle challenge of turning off my bedroom lights had some rough patches along the way, but now reflecting back, I can see the benefits. The first benefit is that reducing the amount of electricity I use will help to lower our electricity bill. This is something that I can benefit from and so can my roommates, who I know love saving money anytime we can. Another benefit is that I have reduced my Ecological Footprint and have helped to make our world a better and cleaner place to live. This might not be something that I can literally see right now, but I know that these types of lifestyle changes can truly have a positive impact on our world. Behaviour change is not something that happens overnight, instead it takes practice and is something that can take up to 3 weeks to make a habit. Challenges can seem overwhelming at first, but I think that if you want to be successful you have to make a commitment to the challenge, be patient, and remember why you took the challenge in the first place.

My SMART goal has really turned into a new habit of mine, which is something I am absolutely going to keep on doing! It is something so simple, yet in the long run it is something that is huge when it comes to protecting our earth. We only have one beautiful earth and now seeing how I can make a lifestyle change, I want to challenge more behaviours of mine. One challenge at a time while taking steps towards a greener place to live!

Eye Opener:Environmental Working Group

After visiting the EWG website, I decided to look up  ChapStick Lip Balm (peppermint flavour). Now that winter is approaching I know my lips are going to feel the weather change and are going to want some of that lip balm.

The overall rating for the product is a 5, which is a moderate hazard. The first thing I did was look at the ingredients found in ChapStick, which are listed on the EWG website. To be honest I couldn't pronounce most of the ingredients, which made some red flags pop up in my head. What I also noticed is that there are a lot of different ingredients and I wondered if there is even a need for all those chemicals to be in my lip balm.

Next, I scrolled down and read through some of the major concerns with the ingredients and how they can affect humans. What stuck out the most to me was neurotoxicity. There is strong evidence of human neurotoxicity in two of the ingredients found in my lip balm. What this means is that exposure to these toxins can alter the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way to cause damage to nervous tissue. I could have stopped reading there because right then I made the decision to through away my ChapStick. However, I did decide to read on and another alarming concern is endocrine disrupters. There is strong evidence of this in two of the ingredients. These are disruptions that can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. YIKES!

As I continued to read on about the concerns, I was left in complete shock. I had no idea that all of those toxins could be in one little tube, and that there are some major health concerns related to those toxins/ingredients. The list is quite lengthy and I could go on about the different concerns but it was clear to me that this product is not one that I will continue to use. My sister, who is a nurse, has told me many times that I should read cosmetic labels and that I should really try to use more natural products or at least learn more about what is in my products. Well I can now say that she was right all along. I am definitely going to find a safer product for my lips and I am throwing away my ChapStick!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change: Week 4 Update

My SMART goal is to turn of the lights in my bedroom every time I leave the room. This week I was successful 90% of the time. On Wednesday I was trying to pack, do laundry, and make dinner so for the two hours I was downstairs doing that, I left my light on.

This week I rarely had to think about turning off my lights, which means it is more of a habit for me now! My strategy has always been to just think before I leave my room. I'm sure unconsciously I still think about turning my lights off but it's awesome that I'm not having to remind myself about it all the time. The challenge that I faced this week was that when I got really busy and stressed, I forgot to turn off my lights. I think its natural to forget to do things when your stressed or running around but I'm going to try and slow things down, take a breath, and I hope that will help me remember everything I am supposed to be doing.

I felt successful again this week and happy that I was achieving my goal. When I forgot to turn of my light it made me feel more stressed. It was a feeling of like great, what else am I forgetting to do. Other then that one mishap I am excited that this is really turning into a habit!

What I learned this week is that even though I felt like it was a habit, I'm not quite there yet. During times when I am rushed and busy I need to just stop and think. I learned that it's ok to remind myself about my lights. I need to look at reminding myself as a positive instead of thinking about it as taking a step back.

Last week I challenged myself to turn off the power bar in my room whenever it is not being used. I had success with this, but I think it might be partly due to the fact that I was away from Thursday  to Sunday. On Monday when I was back home I left it on all day. Once I realized it was on, I turned it off and I was successful again on Tuesday.

This week I am going to stick with my SMART goal and I am going to keep the same challenge. I will be home this weekend which will allow me to really see how I do with turning off my power bar.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change:Week 3 Update

This week I did a much better job with my Eco-Chic lifestyle change goal. YAA!! My SMART goal is that over the next ten weeks, everyday I will turn off all the lights in my bedroom whenever it is not being used. Last week, as you read I had a few challenges and bumps along the way. This week I was perfect! Every time I left my room, the lights were turned off. I even got into such a routine of turning them off that even when I just went to the bathroom, which is only 5 steps away, I still turned them off!

This week my success outweighs my challenges. Although I was "perfect" there were still times when I left my room only to realize I left my light on. This week I realized I left it on just shortly after leaving my room (literally like 5 steps)! I would then just turn around and simply turn it off before leaving my room for an extended period of time. I think what helped me be successful this week was making it a habit. I didn't really PRACTICE turning my light off but repeatedly turning it off every time I left my room helped me make turning my lights off a a new habit of mine!

Even though turning off your lights might seem like a small accomplishment, I still felt like I was achieving something and it made me feel good! Last week I felt a bit of anger when I forgot to turn my lights off, but this week the anger was gone and I felt successful and happy every time I pulled the cord to turn off my lights. I didn't think that every time I left my room I would feel like I was succeeding because I had turned off my lights, but I did!

What I have learned this week is that doing something over and over again can really help make a life-style change a new habit. I also realized that this is something that I don't just want to change over the next ten weeks, but I want to make it something that I do for the rest of my life. Something so simple yet it has such great rewards with both saving money on the electrical bill and becoming more environmentally friendly.

Looking at my SMART goal and the success I had this week I want to continue to work on this goal and hopefully one day I won't even think of turning off my light as achieving a goal and get to the point where I don't even have to think about it. I also want to challenge myself more this week. I have a power bar in my room where I plug in my computer, cell phone, and table light. This week I want to turn off my power bar whenever it is not being used! Although sometimes my light isn't on, computer or cell phone isn't charging, the power bar is still on and is therefore still using electricity. This week I will continue to turn off my light whenever I leave my room, but will also turn off my power bar when it is not being used!

Eye Opener: CSPI

I decided to vist the Tour the Food Supply website and found it very informative. This is a great website to learn quick facts about food, where it comes from, and how it impacts our environment. I want to make changes in my food choices because all the facts were very shocking to me!

The first stop on my tour, was the Animal Feed Facts. The part that stood out the most was the fact that there are far more antibiotics fed to healthy livestock then are used to treat sick people. To me that is something that I don’t even know how to begin to wrap my head around. The antibiotics that are fed to the animals is something that ends up being a part of our diet and to me that is scary. Along with this fact came another shocking piece of information. The methane released from livestock and their manure is equivalent to the annual release of carbon dioxide from 33 MILLION automobiles! I had no idea that the manure could have such a negative impact on our environment.

Another stop on my tour that left me shocked was the Irrigation facts. Irrigating feed-grain crops and raising livestock requires about 15 TRILLION GALLONS of water per year. Wow! I had no idea that the amount of water being used was so high. It is hard for me to even picture that amount of water being used for one aspect of our lives.

The last fact that I want to share is one that I found at the Hospital stop on the tour. I knew some of the facts about diet but once again it opened my eyes. The cost of drugs to treat high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure is about $30 BILLION a year and the overall cost of diet-realted diseases is about $90 billion annually. This was part of the tour because diets rich in meat and dairy products, and low in plant-based foods, increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain types of food. Choosing healthier options can decrease the health bills and health problems our world face.

This tour is one that I would recommend to everyone. It is quick and easy to navigate around, while at the same time learning about some pretty astonishing facts. For me this tour was very educational and learning about all aspects of our food will help me make better choices for my own personal health and for the environment.