Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

The topic that I looked into was Tobacco Use.

Goal: Reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

I am really concerned about second hand smoking, so I chose to focus on the areas in this goal that relate to smoking its effects on the outdoor and indoor environment that people live in.

From the Progress Quotient Chart I found the following progress on this goal:

section 27-10: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: nonsmokers 4+ years, has been met by 136%.

section 27-11: Smoke-free and tobacco-free schools, is 13% towards its target.

section 27-12: Worksite policies prohibiting smoking, is 6% towards its target.
section 27-13: Smoke-free indoor air laws:
a. Private workplaces are 8% towards the target

b. Public workplaces are 12% towards the target

c. Restaurants are 6% towards the target

d. Public transportation is 6% towards the target

e. Day care centers are 10% towards the target

f. Retail stores are 4% towards the target

i. Bars are 4% towards the target

To see the graphs for the goal's progress you can go to this link: Figure 27-1. Progress Quotient Chart for Focus Area 27: Tobacco Use

Progress

• All of the sections of my goal moved towards their target, and one of them even exceeded its goal.
  

Disparities-I found the following information from Healthy People 2010

• The Asian or Pacific Islander population had the best rate of working in worksites that prohibit smoking.
• Exposure to tobacco smoke at home among children showed persistent disparities by race and ethnicity and by income level.
  
• The Hispanic population had the best rate in 1998, with half as many Hispanic children aged 6 years and under exposed to tobacco smoke as black non-Hispanic and white non-Hispanic children were.
  
• Among populations by income, children in poor and near-poor families were twice as likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke as children in middle/high-income families were. Poor families have over 100% greater health disparity compared to high income families.
  
• Black non-Hispanics had 100% health disparitydifference for exposure to tobacco smoke at home in comparison with the best group Latinos or Hispanics.
• Black non-Hispanics also, increase their health disparity over 50% when it comes to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.

Opportunities & Challenges

• None
  

Emerging Issues-I found the following information from Healthy People 2010

• Potentially Reduced Exposure Products (PREPS) deliver lower amounts of toxic, carcinogenic, or addictive agents to the user compared with conventional products.
• Youth obtaining tobacco from other sources as it becomes harder for youth to access tobacco from retail sources.
• Smokeless Tobacco-example: Hookah, can lead to use of other carcinogenic things.
• Internet Sale of Tobacco Products- weak or no age verification mechanisms.

Related Bill
I was not able to find any current national legislation relating to what I would like to advocate. I was looking for a bill on second hand smoke relief or smoke free homes and cars. I was unable to find any legislation on these topics through Dr. V.'s links, so I am going to do some research on my own, and find something I would like there to be legislation on. I am leaning towards a ban on smoking in the car with underage children. My next step is to contact my local representatives and ask them to propose new legislation on this issue.

I will be calling Minnesota Representative:Roger Reinert and Minnesota Senator: Yvonne Prettner Solon and ask them to create some legislation on this issue.


Have a Great Day!!!

Documentary Review: Unnatural Causes

The documentary that we watched this week was Unnatural Causes...is inequality making us sick? The section of this documentary that we watched was, "In sickness and in wealth". The main themes of this section were how jobs, wealth, etc.. affect our biology, and why some people get more sick than others and die sooner.

Summary
The documentary went around to four different neighborhoods in Louisville, Kentucky and interviewed someone who lived there to see what their life was like in that area. They first went to a North East neighborhood and interviewed a man named Jim Taylor. This area was a very high income area. The people who lived in this area were in the top 1% of income, which was more than the bottom 90% of people's incomes combined. Jim says that he feels safe in his neighborhood, and that there is no excess death in this area. The people in this area actually have a life expectancy that is two years over the national average.
Tonya was in the second neighborhood that this documentary looked at. This neighborhood was in southern Louisville, and was mainly middle class citizens. There was one thing that divided this neighborhood, and it was education. Apparently college graduates live two and a half years longer than people with just a high school diploma. College tuition keeps on increasing, so this division is a situation of money. Not everyone can afford going to college, therefore, people in this area have unequal lifespans. The people in this area will live four years less than the people in the really rich neighborhoods like Jim.
In West/Central Louisville, Cory was interviewed. This area was poor and had the median wealth of Louisville. In this area diseases sets in earlier, and people live six years less than the people in the really rich neighborhoods like Jim. In this neighborhood there aren't many businesses, all there is are liquor stores and fast food places. People who lose their jobs may need to leave home in order to find another. This is really bad because home ownership builds financial security.
The last neighborhood that was visited was farther West in Louisville. Mary, who lived there, never graduated from high school and is living at, or below the poverty level. There is also a lot of crime in this area. People who live in this area will live nine years less than people in the richest neighborhoods like Jim. She lives off of social security and eats what can fit into her budget. She often eats only one meal a day in order to make her money last. Many people in this area are unemployed and feel like they have no control over how their lives are going to turn out. Here is an example of a problem that occurs in an area like Mary is living in. Mary currently needs medicine to be able to work, she needs to get health coverage in order to afford her medicine, but she needs to have a job in order to receive health coverage. This is a vicious circle, and there really isn't any way that she can stop this from happening.

The rest of this documentary explains the main reasons for unequal health in our nation. Life expectancy relies on resources available to people, like education, money, or your economic ranking. Social class influences events that impinge on people's lives. Poverty decreases control of one's life. No control leads to stress which leads to the body releasing cortosol (which puts your body on alert for survival), which increases heart rate and blood pressure, which accelerates aging and leads to an early death. Also, the higher demand of job you have, the more stress you have. There is more crime in poor areas, which also leads to a more stressful lifestyle. The documentary mentioned that the differences that people have are not natural, they come out of social policies that produce inequality. There is a lack of equal access to resources. Also, the more education someone has, the longer they live. I have heard all of these things before, but I have never actually seen proof of why this is. This documentary was really moving to me because of that. It really made me think of how lucky I am for the lifestyle that I have.

What Challenged My
Thinking
The first thing that really struck me was that we always see America representing good health, yet we spend tons of money on medical care, and still live shorter and sicker lives than any other industrialized country. We are ranked 30th for life expectancies, and more babies die here than in really poor places. Also, there are 47 million people in America that don't have health care coverage.

People who are in the top 1% of income have more money than the bottom 90% of people's incomes combined. I think that that is ridiculous.

I found the following to be really interesting. People who are poor and smoke are worse off than people who are rich and smoke. The same thing is true for stress. If two people are eating the same exact diet, but one is really stressed, the person who is stressed will form more plaque in their blood vessels, which will lead to an earlier death. This really explains why health is unequally distributed. Finally, black people that live just as well as white people, will still live less long. The reason for this is discrimination. Discrimination puts someone on constant guard, which leads to higher stress, which leads to an unhealthy lifestyle.

The more education, money, and status you have; the less stress you have, which means that you release less cortosol; which leads to less immune issues, which leads to better health. This proves how people who are poor and less educated have such a lower life expectancy. The relation between these traits are incredible.

The thing that I find really sad is that on top of the fact that rich people have less overall stress, they also have the money and resources available to reduce the stress that they do have. They have the time to exercise, the money to go on vacations, the money to eat healthier, etc.. This really is unfair becuase the people who have the most stress, the poor, don't have the resources they need in order to reduce their stress. This means that they most likely have at least twice the amount of stress that wealthier people have, which means that they will live relatively shorter, less quality lives.


Additional Resources
I found an article called, "Health, Income, and Inequality", written by, Angus Deaton. This article was written through the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research).
http://www.nber.org/reporter/spring03/health.html#N_*_

You can also visit the following website to learn more about the documentary, "Unnatural Causes".
http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/video_clips.php

Have a Great Day!!!

Reflection: Weeks 9 and 10

These last two weeks have gone super fast and have been pretty easy. We branched out from our regular documentary viewing and article reading, and started to learn about advocacy and good picture taking techniques. This was really interesting to me, because I recently have been really interested in advocacy, but haven't taken the chance to learn more about it. I really enjoy speaking about controversial issues and speaking up for people who don't have a voice, so I think I will be really great at this advocacy project that is coming up.

So in week 9 we learned about advocacy and then did our first post for our advocacy project. Our assignment was to look up our political leaders and find their contact information and political affiliation. I thought that this post would be super easy, but finding our political leaders was harder for me than I thought it would be. I really enjoyed doing this assignment because I got to learn who some of our more local leaders are, and I had no idea who they were before this project.

In week 10 we did not have class. I really enjoyed this, just because I think that all of us are starting to get really burnt out, so I think that we all just needed a little break. Now I feel recharged and ready to hit these last six weeks hard. During this week we had our Photo Essay Eye Opener due. Our assignment was to pick an environmental issue and describe the problem through photos. This project was really hard for me because I am not a very creative person. But after I finished this assignment I felt really proud of myself, so I am really glad that we had this assignment and that I had this chance to push myself.

Overall I really enjoyed these last two weeks!


Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

Ok...so I chose to do my photo essay on a problem that has been bugging me for the last two years. For the last two years I have been buying my own groceries, and have noticed how many plastic bags accumulate from my roommates and my own shopping trips. By the end of the semester we have accumulated a ridiculous amount of bags. Now here is the problem...where do you get rid of the bags??? You can't recycle these bags, so it seems that your only option is to toss the bags in the trash, but then they are filling up our landfills. There is one other solution, but you need to have time, and a car to use it. This option is bringing all of your plastic bags to your local Cub Foods, where they have a recycling bin for plastic bags. It is so wonderful that we have that option...but I am wondering how many people actually choose to save all of their plastic bags and then drive all the way out to their local Cub Foods to recycle their bags. I think that there should be more places where people can recycle their plastic bags.



My photo essay restates what I have just described above. I hope you enjoy it!!!


This is how the problem starts...just one small shopping trip to the grocery store.

There are just two bags....harmless...right????

But now all of my roommates have gone shopping...

Now here is a whole semesters worth of plastic bags that my roommates and I have accumulated.


There are so many bags. I need to get rid of them somehow.

I don't want to throw them in the trash.

I can't recycle them.

So what am I going to do???? I am going to pack up my car with all of my bags and go to my local Cub Foods where I can drop them off.





This is the recycling bin for all of your plastic bags.

This is what the recycling bin says.

These are all of my bags in front of the recycling bin. I am going to try to do my part to keep the landfills less full, and recycle my bags here.



I hope that you all join me and start bringing your grocery bags to your local Cub Foods! Join me in making this one small step to save the environment!


I recieved consent from the manager at Duluth's local Cub Foods to take these picture!


Have a Great Day!!!

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

Here are the Political Representatives of Duluth, Minnesota:


President: Barack Obama
Democratic Party

Contact Information

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

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


U.S. Senator: Amy Klobuchar
Democratic Party

Contact Information

302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Main Line: 202-224-3244
Main Fax: 202-228-2186
Toll Free: 1-888-224-9043


U.S. Representative: James L. Oberstar
Democratic Farmer Labor Party

Contact Information

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

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


Governor: Tim Pawlenty
Republican Party

Contact Information

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

E-mail: tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us

Minnesota Senator: Yvonne Prettner Solon
Democratic Farmer Labor Party

Contact Information

Capitol Office: 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room G-9
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.296.4188


Minnesota Representative:Roger Reinert
Democratic Farmer Labor Party

Contact Information

429 State Office Building

100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4246

E-mail: rep.roger.reinert@house.mn

St. Louis County Board President:Commissioner Steve O'Neil

Contact Information

2nd District
Room 208
100 N. 5th Avenue West
Duluth, MN 55802

(218) 726-2359


Duluth Mayor: Don Ness
Democratic Farmer Labor Party

Contact Information

Mayor's Office
Room 402, 411 West First Street
Duluth, MN 55802

Phone: (218) 730-5230
Fax: (218) 730-5904

e-mail:dness@duluthmn.gov




Thanks for reading,

Have a Great Day!!!

Reflection: Weeks 7 and 8

Wow...another two weeks have gone by. This class is still really interesting to me. I am learning about so many different environmental issues. Before this class, I thought of environmental issues as recycling, air pollution, conserving electricity and alternative forms of power. I never really thought about plastic factories, chemical spills, water privatization, cosmetics, etc... We covered these topics these last two weeks throughout our readings, class assignments, and the documentaries that we watched in class.

During week 7 we were assigned Reading 16: Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door. This reading was about life in a small rural town and the results of having a chemical plant near by. This was really interesting to me because I haven't lived in a small town, and I have always wondered why people just don't leave if things are so bad. Ii have a better understanding of their lives now. We also watched the documentary, "Green", in class this week. This documentary was about "cancer alley". This documentary was really hard to watch because it showed how horrible our government is and how people are getting sick or hurt because of it. This is just really upsetting to me. We also did an Eye Opener on the environmental effects of one of our favorite cosmetic items. This was really interesting because I have never really thought about how my cosmetics effect the earth.

Week 8 was a little less busy. We were assigned to read Reading 31: Privatizing Water. This article was about how water privatization is starting to become a larger part of our world. The article mentioned the pros and cons of water privatization, and why certain areas would be benefited by this option. We watched half of the documentary, "Thirst", this week, which was about the water privatization issue that we had just read about. The second half of the documentary didn't work, so we spent the class period talking about environmental issues. I really thought that that was a fun way to mix things up.

Overall, I really enjoyed these last two weeks. Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys have a great spring break!!!

Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: Top 10 Ways to be Green

Hey guys! I realize this isn't the most creative Share and Voice ever, but I do feel that it is an important one for everyone to know about. I am surprised that no one has beat me to something this simple. So here goes... I decided to find out what the top 10 ways to be green are. I typed this into Google, and got lots of responses, but the one I liked the best was by Yahoo. Their Top 10 Ways to be Green are as follows:

1. Unplug or Shut off Appliances
2. Use Less Water
3. Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
4. Choose Products With Less Packaging
5. Buy Organic and Local Foods
6. Drive Less
7. Plant a Tree
8. Recycle More
9. Switch to "Green" Power via Your Local Utility Company
10. Spread the Word

Please check this website out to get more information on these ten ways to be green.

http://green.yahoo.com/global-warming/lime-68/top-ten-ways-to-be-green.html;_ylt=AneOyh1WnhwTal0s4SL2kAaGV8cX

Let me know which one is your favorite. Thanks for reading!!


Have a Great Day!!!

Review of Reading #31: Privatizing Water

Summary
This reading is written by Curtis Runyan, from the magazine, World Watch, in the January/February 2003 issue.

This article begins with an event that occurred on April 8, 2000. A Bolivian soldier shot into a crowd of protesters, and killed a 17 year old student. This angered the protesters, and so even more of them were injured. This protest took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia and was a "demonstration against the government's privatization of the city's water works"(McKinney, 128).

In September of 1999, Bolivia was threatened by the World Bank. The World Bank said that they would withhold 600 million in debt relief if they didn't privatize their water utilities. So, Cochabamba signed over its "aging, inadequate waterworks"(McKinney, 128). This lead to a 35% increase in water bills in just one month, and the service was still unreliable and infrequent. The book said that the water ran less than four hours a day in many parts of the city.(McKinney, 128) This really angered the people of Cochabamba, so a coalition of laborers, and environmentalists started a started a strike that shut down the city. All of this chaos led the government officials to call an emergency meeting to cancel the water contract and return the water control to the utility. The article says that the water troubles in Cochabamba are far from over.(McKinney, 128)

The rest of this article goes more in depth with the pros and cons of water privatization. Currently two large water corporations (Vivendi and Suez) are providing water to over 200 million people in more than 120 countries, and are each drawing annual revenues of roughly 10 billion dollars from water and waste water services. (McKinney, 129) More and more governments are turning to water privatization as a means to attract much needed investment in their water systems. (McKinney, 129) This article also explains that in 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit meeting, that water was recognized as a "economic good". (McKinney, 128) This has led to water being viewed more as a "profitable commodity rather than a human right in some areas"(McKinney, 128). The article mentions that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been pressuring countries to move to water privatization. Though, some cities are actually turning down large money bids from Suez, and controlling their own water.(McKinney, 129)

Since I learn better with lists than paragraphs, I am going to list the main pros and cons of Water Privatization for you. All of the below came straight from the book, McKinney pages 128-130.

PROS:
-Gives some governments the chance to attract the private capital and expertise needed to build and expand expensive water systems
-Helps connect the millions who currently make do without piped water.
-Provides equatable access to water for poor communities.
-Help improve efficiency and and productivity of water systems.
-Help utilities improve their services by providing the capital and expertise needed to, for example, repair leaks in water mains, expand connections to unserved communities, or improve billing systems.
-Help when governments are weak and cannot meet the basic water needs of their country/city.

CONS:
-Drastic rate increases
-Inadequate customer service
-Loss of local control and accountability
-Undermine conservation programs
-Degrade ecosystems through efforts to tap new water sources.
-Significant job cuts
-Fewer environmental safeguards
-Dropped conservation initiatives
-Halted service to poor or remote communities
-Companies are more motivated by profit than public service. This can leave poor and underserved communities neglected
-Weak governments are unable to provide the oversight and management functions necessary to protect public interests. This can lead to corruption.

My Thoughts

This reading was really interesting to me because I am honestly confused on whether or not their should be water privatization. There are many things about it that really rub me the wrong way, but then there are some things that seem extremely necessary. I think that it is really important that their is equal access to clean water for everyone, and that is one of the things that water privatization will help with. Another thing that really struck me in this article was that many poorer communities are paying much more for safe drinking water than we are. That just doesn't seem fair. I would like to end my review with a great question asked by Sandra Postel, of the Global Water Policy Project. She asked, "How do we mobilize the capital needed to put in the pumps, pipes, and wells that are needed, and do it in a way that is fair, affordable, and environmentally sound?"(McKinney, 130).

Vocabulary

World Bank-an international bank established in 1944 to help member nations reconstruct and develop, esp. by guaranteeing loans: a specialized agency of the United Nations.

International Monetary Fund-an international organization that promotes the stabilization of the world's currencies and maintains a monetary pool from which member nations can draw in order to correct a deficit in their balance of payments: a specialized agency of the United Nations

Privatization-changing something from state to private ownership or control

Rio Earth Summit in 1992-sought to help Governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet.

Martial Law-the body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law

Consortium-a combination of financial institutions, capitalists, etc., for carrying into effect some financial operation requiring large resources of capital.

Coalition-a combination or alliance, esp. a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.

Rescinded-To make void; repeal or annul.

Commodification-to turn into an article of trade

Global Water Policy Project-aims to promote the preservation and sustainable use of Earth’s fresh water through research, writing, outreach, and public speaking

Municipal-of or pertaining to a town or city or its local government

Infrastructure-the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.

Paternalistic-the system, principle, or practice of managing or governing individuals, businesses, nations, etc., in the manner of a father dealing benevolently and often intrusively with his children

Subsidiary-serving to assist or supplement

Lobbying-to try to influence the actions of (public officials, esp. legislators).

Provision-the providing or supplying of something, esp. of food or other necessities.

Breach-the act or a result of breaking; break or rupture.

Extra Links

I found more information about Water Privatization on Wikipedia, and I found a Water Privatization Overview article on the Public Citizen Webpage.


Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: Blog on Award

So I just got the blog on award for my last share and voice about paper towels vs. hand dryers! I received this award from Dr. V. for the Health Educator in me. I had a question, so I found answers. So now it is my turn to pass on the Blog on Award. There were a lot of really great posts, but one that I thought was really cool and also demonstrated good Health Educator qualities was Hannah's Share and Voice on Air Pollution and Environmental Justice. I really liked her post because it related really well with the Documentary that we just watched in class, "Green". Her post shows the health disparities that low income and urban communities face. Please check out her post. It is really shocking! Great job Hannah!!!



Award Instructions

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
   
2. Create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).
3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).
4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.
5. Publish the post.
6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.
7. Continue the process...

Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

For this Eye Opener I went onto the webiste, Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database, to see how bad one of my main cosmetic products is for the environmetn. This website didn’t have my exact mascara color, but the information below is for the closest option. I currently wear Cover Girl – Very Black, Waterproof, Lash Blast Mascara. The website had waterproof, black brown Lash Blast Mascara. So here are my results from the website:





COVERGIRL LASH BLAST WATERPROOF VOLUME MASCARA, BLACK BROWN
last updated: 04/01/08 brand: Cover Girl by Procter & Gamble




SCORE
4
moderate hazard (out of 10)



BETTER PRODUCTS
13% of mascaras have lower concerns




INGREDIENT CONCERNS
Percentage of ingredients in this product that meet these criteria:

Ingredients in this product are linked to:
Cancer
Developmental/reproductive toxicity
Violations, restrictions & warnings
Allergies/immunotoxicity

Other concerns for ingredients used in this product: Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes

This manufacturer:
Compact for Safe Cosmetics signer
Conducts animal testing

Ingredients from packaging: Petroleum Distillates, Polyethylene, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Carnauba Wax - Copernicia Cerifera, Trihydroxystearin, Propylene Carbonate, Pentaerythrityl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Tall Oil Glycerides, Tocopheryl Acetate, Propylparaben, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide - May Contain, Ultramarines - May Contain, Talc - May Contain


Directions from packaging: Discard bottle cap.Replace with brush and close cap completely before first use.




Warnings from packaging: Safeguard Purity: Always handle/apply in a careful, sanitary manner.Don't share or add anything to mascara. Treat applicator in a hygienic manner, don't reuse in a new case.Don't use if change in odor or appearance occurs. Cap tightly.Do not dilute.Never use if your eye is irritated, infected, or scratched.In extreme cases, eye infections can lead to blindness.Consult an eye doctor immediately in case of injury.

I thought that this Eye Opener was really fun and interesting. I never really thought about how my mascara is effecting the environment. Now I know, how cool!!! The one thing that made me the most upset about my results was that my cosmetic item is tested on animals. That is reallly disappointing to me. :( I have never really looked at the packaging before to see if the product I am interested in tests on animals, so I guess I can maybe try to check the packaging next time. I really don't want to wear something that has been tested on animals.

One thing that I found incredibly intersting is that on the website, the same mascara, that wasn't waterproof, had a score of 8! That is twice the score of my waterproof mascara. How weird. I expected my waterproof mascara to be much worse becuase manufacturers need to add something to the original formula to make the mascara waterproof, so I just always assumed that that chemicle would be worse for the environment. So I guess this information makes me feel better about my choice.

Maybe in the future I will research some of my cosmetic items before buying them so that I can see how bad they are for the environment. Thanks for reading!!

Have a Great Day!!!

Reflection: Weeks 5 and 6

I swear this class just keeps getting better and better! I feel like I am really getting a hang on blogging, finally. I now know how to add color, bring in picture, hyperlink, and even bring in a youtube video. I am super proud of that last one. YAY!!!!! I really never thought that I would be able to handle having a blog, and now I think that I can.

In class these last two weeks we have watched some really interesting documentaries. I really enjoyed "Diet for a New America". It was facinating to me that 12 pounds of grains produces only one pound of beef. I honestly don't think that I will ever forget that. And I am going to try giving up beef for a while becuase of that fact. We also just finished watching "Future of Food", which is all about genetically modified foods. I honestly didn't know how much of our food is modified, and I had no idea that these modified foods were/are making people sick. How scary!

These last two weeks we have done reading reviews and eye openers, like usual. I really liked the Eye Opener: CSPI. In this one we learned about how our food choices are affecting the environment. I thought that that was really cool. I was appauled by some of my results, but I feel like that is what was supposed to happen. I now think more about what I am putting in my body and how it will affect the environment.


Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: Youtube Video on Lake Superior and Global Warming

Lake Superior and Climate Change: Part 2



Ok, so I have become really interested lately on how Duluth is doing on certain environmental issues. After watching that documentary in class about global warming, I really was interested to see what affects of global warming we are having here in Duluth. This youtube video is called Lake Superior and Climate Change: Part 2, and it is actually really interesting. It explains how global warming is causing larger storms, which then poorly effects the environment. It mentions the changes in the amount of ice that Lake Superior has been having, and the changes in water temperature. It also tells us what we need to do to keep this problem in check. Please check out this short video clip. I think you will find it really interesting.


Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: Summary of Reading 18: Attacking an Arsenic Plague

This article was really short, yet very interesting. This article was written by Helen Epstein in 2002 about arsenic poisoning in the drinking water in rural Bangladesh. Arsenic has become a natural element in their drinking water. Due to this, thousands of people will die from cancer caused by the arsenic, and thousands more will suffer from skin lesion caused by the arsenic.

The World Bank gave the Bangladesh government 32.4 million to help them determine which wells are safe. The book explains that the Bangladesh goverment is very corrupt, therefore this money offering "is hampered both by its notorious bureaucracies and the sheer scale of the problem: Some 10 million private wells need testing" (McKinney 71).

This article discusses two new inventions that are hoped to help test and/or clean the water.

• The first invention was made by Pietro Perona, a Caltech electrical engineer. The device called the arsonometer. This device will turn the water blue if there is arsenic in it. This device seems very complicated, and there are ways that the test results can be off. So I, personally, don't feel like this device is the best way to go.
• The second invention was made by Fakhurl Islam, a chenist at Bangladesh's Rahshahi University. This device is a cheap filter that strips arsenic from drinking water. (McKinney 71) The dust particles that can do this com in 20 kg bags that cost three dollars. This bag of dust particles can filter 3,000 liters of water. Once the liter is full, it can be tossed out without worry of spreading the arsenic. This invention sounds like a much better way to go.

Hopefully these two devices can help stop the arsenic poisoning that is going on.

Here are a couple of articles that explain the current controversy on arsenic poisoning:

Arsenic in Groundwater Research and Rhetoric

This article is based off a study that finds that the arsenic posioning in groudwater is caused by the indiscriminate (careless) use of chemicals to improve agriculture. This finding challenges the conclusion reached by other parties that thought that the issue is basically geologic in nature (SOS-arsenic.net). There is arsenic in coal that is found in the ground. When combined with rainwater, it dissolves and can run into the groundwater that is used in wells.

Bangladesh’s arsenic poisoning: who is to blame?

I really thought this article was interesting. This article explains how this poisoning began. UNICEF and the World Bank gave money to Bangladesh to help them provide clean drinking water to their population. Unfortunately no one tested the water for arsenic, which is common in groundwater, before providing wells to people. Then when people got sick from the arsenic, the doctors decided not to make a big deal of the information, so more and more people kept on getting sick. Now that this issue is finally publically know, the main problem is finding all of the wells. The article says that it will take roughly 30 years to do this. I wonder how many more will get sick?
The other really interesting this that I read had UNICEF saying that they didn't test before they dug all of the wells because there weren't tests in the 1970s that would detect arsenic poisoning in the geological formations in Bangladesh. A geochemist from University College London laughed at this comment.

So my question for discussion is: Who do you think is to blame for this mass poisoning?


Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: My Dad's Photos

Hey!!! I went home this weekend and my dad was looking through his pictures and editing them like he always does, when I got the idea to share some of them with you. My dad has really gotten into photography in last few years. He is really great! He loves to go to different state parks on the weekends, and he loves taking tons of pictures on his vacations. Within this last year he has gone to the Boundary Waters, Canada, India and London, and taken some fascinating pictures. I would really like to share them with you. I hope you enjoy them.

Niagra Falls

Richfield Nature Center

Minnesota River Valley State Park

Woodlake Nature Center

Minnesota River Valley State Park

Wild Daisies from Woodlake Nature Center

Sunset at Woodlake Nature Park

Early in the morning at a local State Park

A Lotus from India

A Waterfall in India

A garden outside of the Buckingham Palace

Boundary Waters: This picture was actually published in the Star Tribune for the Travel Section.

All of these pictures were taken by Dennis Hensche. I hope you enjoyed them!

Have a Great Day!!!

Share and Voice: Paper Towels vs Hand Dryers

So today after I had washed my hands in the bathroom, I went to go grab some paper towels, and there weren't any. This frustrated me becuase I was in a hurry and prefer paper towels. I have always heard that it is more environmentally friendly to use the hand dryers, but I have always disliked them because it takes FOREVER for them to dry your hands. So back to today....in my frustration I got to thinking...Is it even better for the environment for people to use hand dryers instead of paper towels? What are the benefits for each? Why are both paper towels and hair dryers provided in bathrooms when one is better for the environment then the other....that is if one is truely better than the other. All of these thoughts inspired me to do some research of my own in order to get some real answers to my questions.



So here is what I found...Facts are found from the article "Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels" written by By Brendan I. Koerner. This article came from the website Slate.

• Both have a cost on the environment, so the best option is to wipe hands on your pants.
• The main benefits of using paper towels are that they don't use electricity, and the automatic ones are battery operated. Also, the trees that are used to make paper towels are typically replaced after the harvest; so deforestation is not an issue.
• The main disadvantage of using paper towels is all of the pollution that is created. Fossil fules are used for the woods' transportation to companies who make paper towels. The pulping process in making paper towels also creates a lot of pollution. Finally, the transportation of paper towels to clients who use them, creates even more pollution.
• Hand dryers do need to be delivered, but this occurs much less often then paper towel deliveries.
• Another disadvantages of using paper towels is that more maintanance jobs are needed for bathroom clean up, that aren't needed for hand dryer use. Just think about how often the garbage can needs to be emptied, and paper towel machines need to be refilled.
• Hand Dryers are the greener option!!!! They eliminate waste disposal and they are more hygienic than paper towels. They use less energy and last 7-10 years. The worst part about hand dryers is that it takes a little bit more energy up front to make them.
• The carbon emissions from a typical use of a hand dryer are .02-.08. This is much less than the carbon emissions from a typical paper towel use (typically 2 paper towels) which is 0.123.

I just want you guys to think about this. Is the added convenience of paper towels really worth the piles and piles of paper towels that are filling our landfills? Please take the extra minute, and try to dry your hands more often with a hand dryer.

Thanks for reading!!

Here is the main webstie where I found most of my information. Please feel free to click on it if you want to learn more!

http://www.slate.com/id/2193740/

Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: CSPI

I really enjoyed doing this Eye Opener! I have always wondered how my eating is impacting the environment. I feel like I eat fairly healthy. I have grown up being conscious of my food choices and have always aimed to eat a well balenced diet.

So here are my results:

• Health Score: 122
• Environmental Score: -40
• Animal Welfare Score: -39
• Grand Total: 55 = Good

Wow...Well that appears to be pretty bad to me! The only part that I am happy about is the Health Score, and I was expecting it to be good. The other two categories I need to improve and fast! Yikes!!!

The area that I scored the highest was vegetables. This score was WAY above the rest of my other scores. The other higher categories were whole grains and fat-free dairy products. I feel that this is correct becuase I am a very healthy eater. I always eat my fruits and veggies, wheat products, and as low fat of foods as I can. The reason why the vegetable score was so much higher than the rest was becuase I was above the average servings of vegetables per week, and I just really like vegetables.

The areas that I scored the lowest on where chicken and dairy. I find this to be a little shocking. I didn't think that drinking milk and eating chicken were that bad for the environment, but it does make sense that these areas are the worst for me becuase I eat these items daily.

My scores for the Environment and Animal Welfare are equally bad. I believe that my score for the environment is so bad becuase I eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables; most of which need to be shipped here, and I think that the reason my score for Animal Welfare is so bad is becuase I eat meat on a daily basis. I know that I should really try to change both, but for right now I know that I can change my impact on my Animal Welfare score by trying to eat a vegetarian meal once or twice a week. This is a change I am confident that I can do.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Great Day!!!

Reflection: Weeks 3 and 4

These last two weeks have been going great! I FINALLY think I am getting a hang of blogging. It still isn't something I look foreward to do, but I also am not dreading it anymore. Yay!!! I think part of the reason things are getting easier for me is because i finally talked to Dr. V. and had her go over some of the blogging lingo that I still didn't understand, and she explained google reader to me, so that made things a lot less complicated and helped me save some time. Another reason why I think I am handling blogging better these last two weeks is becuase we are mainly doing posts now. The first two weeks were focussed on setting up our blogs, and that was WAY too much for me. So these last two weeks have been much easier.

These last two weeks we read an article on the use of documentaries on environmental issues. This article made me veiw documentaries in a different way. I still believe that they are important for the general public to learn about things that they don't have easy access to, but, I also now realize that what I am seeing isn't exactly what things may look like.

This last week we have been watching "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore. This documentary is all about the effects of global warming. This film really openned my eyes. I had no idea how bad global warming can get, and had no idea how bad it has gotten. This film really put things into perspective, and I really am going to take this issues much more seriously from here on out.

Finally, this week we had our first Eye Opener assignment due. We were suppost to learn about ecological footprints and take three environmental quizzes and talk about our result. By the end of this assignment, we all knew what our ecological footprint was, and how many earths it would take for the world to live the way that we lived. This assignment was really interesting, but I was very let down and dissappointed with my results. I learned that I really am not living as "green" as I thought I was. This was really great for me to learn though, becuase now I can start to try different things that will help make my ecological foootprint smaller.

Have a Great Day!!!

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

Ok...so I just took the Earth Day Footprint Quiz, and if everyone lived the way I did, we would need 4.2 Earths. I am really shocked that I am making such an impact on this earth. I really thought that I lived a pretty green lifestyle. I ride the bus to school, I always recycle, I try my best to turn off the lights when I am not using them, and I try to conserve water. So in doing all of this I am really bummed that I still have such a high impact. The quiz made a pie chart for how my ecological footprint breaks down and I got a better idea of why my footprint may be so high. Food makes up more than 1/4 of my ecological footprint. The first question of this quiz was how often do you eat meat, and my response was every day. I think that that made a huge impact on my footprint. The second question was how much of the food that I buy is locally grown and fresh, and I had to say probably only half. I learned in Community Health that Duluth hardly makes any food locally, so I knew that a lot of my food that I purchase isn't local. I know that that also made a HUGE impact on my footprint. The other part of my pie graph that really stood out to me was that almost 1/2 of my footprint was made up of the services I use. I think that represented my house, electricity, trash, and bus usage. What I learned form this is that I really need to start walking more and begin to eat less meat.

The next quiz I took was the Air Polution Indicator Quiz. This quiz asked for my zip code, and then evaluated the air polution in my county (St. Louis). Apparently, as of 2002, St. Louis County had 20% of the worst/dirtiest air released carcinogens due to emissions from factories and power plants. Also, 6% of St. Louis County houses are at high risk for Lead Hazards. In 1999, Smog caused St. Louis County to have 10% of the worst/dirtiest air comparred to other counties, and that it had 20% of the worst noncancerous air emissions. These results really make me nervous about the air that I am breathing.

The last quiz that I took was the Travel Calculator. This one asked all sorts of different questions about how far you travel to do different activities, how many people you travel with, and what your mode of transportation is. This quiz made me feel better about myself. While I am at school I don't have a car, and I don't travel home too often, so I can understand why my results said I am better than average in my travel impact on the world. The only time I drive a lot is when I finally get to go home. I drive all the way back to south of the cities, which is about a 150 miles one way. Then I drive around to see my friends. I think that I can cut back on my driving when I go home and walk to some of my friends' places, or at least make sure that I carpool.

Overall I learned a lot from this activity. I learned that everyone really needs to be careful of the amount of resources that they use and REALLY try to minimize their impact on the world. I think that more people need to learn about their ecological footprint, becuase I bet that many people may feel the same way as me, and think that they are already doing enough. I learned from this activity that I am not.

Have a Great Day!!!