Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14 & overal course review

The last two week of class have come and gone!


In week 13 we went to the Goodwill in west Duluth.  It was a very interesting experience.  I've already been there a couple of times.  I've gone on my own, and I've gone a couple of times with my clients at the group home I work for.  I wasn't expecting that I would learn so much.  I had no idea Goodwill was known for hiring individuals with disabilities.  I think what struck me the most is when we talked about the different jobs that the workers do.  I loved how they said they didn't really care about how efficiently things were done.  They would use several individuals on one task as long as it was beneficial to those individuals.  After we went on a tour of Goodwill we went to the store and did a little activity.  We were each given a task and we had to complete it with a budget of only $20.  My group completed our task by finding plates, bowls, silverware, glasses, and decorative items for a kitchen!  I will definitely be visiting the Goodwill again!  You will always find a treasure of some kind!

During week 14, our very last week, we shared our junking projects!  I made my project while I was at home for Thanksgiving break.  I used an old box that held thank you cards.  I turned the box into a jewelery box by making dividers out of cardboard pieces from a shoe box!  I also used paper and a photo to decorate the box!

 

After we each shared our projects we talked about the most significant things we learned throughout the semester.  I talked about the power of social change.  

Overall Course Review:  It has been an interesting and fabulous semester.  I'd say this was one of the most enjoyable classes I've taken in all my time at UMD.  It's just so relatable to my life. It's unlike any other course you'll take - teaching style and subject alike!  I wish everyone had to take this class.  I think there is value in knowing how to create and operate a blog.  I also think there is HUGE value to the subject matter.  This should be a prerequisite just to be a member of earth!  I feel like so much more educated on issues I knew the minimum about.  I also feel like a more educated consumer.  I'm now an eco-chic consumer!  There is real life value to this class and I would recommend it to anyone.  The work load was pretty substantial, but it was spread out and it was something you just got in the habit of putting in your schedule.  I'm glad I did because now I have this amazing blog that I've created that is storing everything I learned this semester and it's mine forever!  It's almost like your very own little electronic portfolio of a semester's worth of knowledge!  

Reflection: Weeks 11 & 12

Another two weeks has flown by and It's already the end of the semester!  With each class I'm feeling more informed and more prepared to be an environmentally friendly steward!

Week 11 was really informative.  We started class by defining environmental literacy, health, and one other word that I nor anyone else can seem to remember (sorry Dr. V!).  It was hard to define because our definitions had to be at the reading level of a ten year old.  I really had no idea how difficult that was, you would think it would make it easier!  That was honestly the most challenging part, that and revising other groups definitions.  Next we watched "The Story of Stuff".  This mini documentary described exactly where all our stuff comes from (like the resources needed to mine, manufacture, produce, and deliver the goods).  This was probably what stuck with me the most from the past two weeks.  I can't believe how corrupt many company's are.  How can they make products that are meant to break so you have to buy new ones?! I am PISSED! When will the earth become more important that making a profit.  It also sucks that although America only consists of 5% of the population we use 30% of the resources.  Does anyone else feel that stat is a little unbalanced?  Lastly we did JUNKING!!!!! How cool was that?! We looked at these 5 items that seemed to have no purpose and came up with different ways they could be used.  I don't think I've laughed that hard in a class since high school.  I think personally, finding a purpose for an object isn't the problem, but actually making your ideas into a reality.  It's one of those "oh, I use it when I have more time" or "I'll make it into a gift then the occasion rolls around".  Anyway, junking is gonna be a new hobby for me for sure!

Week 12 was a little more toned down I'd say.  We learned how to use blog hops, which are pretty applicable to many blogging situations!  In our class's case we used the blog hop to show off our PHOTO ESSAYS!  I really enjoyed doing my photo essay.  My friend from Korea has to go back after she graduates college in December because her Visa is up and Grand Forks has been her home and I've been her family for 9 years.  We even had our graduation parties together!  I took her around with me when I was on my "Green-Tour" and so I got homework done and she got to tour her home one last time.  It was a really good for both of us.  On a lighter note, it was really great to see everyone's photo essays.  Way cool!  Lastly, we talked about writing our advocacy letter.  I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of a step backwards after doing something cool like photo essays, but I understand that it's important.   We'll see how it goes!

My family! Me, Mom, In Young, Dad, Sister, Baby!

Can't wait for our next 2 (and last 2) classes together!

Reflection: weeks 9 & 10

Weeks 9 and 10 were a little different than past weeks in the way that instead of doing eye-openers we have been working on our advocacy projects. 

In week 9 we started out by learning about advocacy.  We did this by getting into groups and teaching the class different topics related to advocacy.  This was an interesting way to learn and an interesting way to teach as well.  Most groups did some kind of skit to illustrate their point.  I learned that advocacy is not a service and that it doesn't always have to be really confrontational.  It was interesting learning about the barriers to advocacy because they all made sense.  I think I'm most guilty of not knowing enough about an issue, but that is something I could totally change if I just took the time! 

We also found our political leaders online and all of their contact information.  Something that surprised me about this was they that they did their email.  Most representatives didn't have an actually email address, but more like this blank form you would go to their site and fill out.  I guess it makes sense considering how many emails they must get, but I was kind of just expecting to find an email address like any other individual would have. 

In week 10 we watched the first section of a documentary called "Unnatural Causes".  The section was called "In Sickness and In Wealth" and was about health and how it seems to be directly correlated to wealth.  It's pretty upsetting to see how life expectancy goes down with level of income.  It was also a really big eye-opener to see how much stress is put on people who earn less, or people who are in less control at their jobs.  I never expected that.  When I think about stress, I definitely was thinking that the hospital CEO must be under a lot of stress, way more than a janitor.  It was crazy to find out that that's not the case.  My book kind of ties into this as it's talking about how we are constantly stressed because we are constantly working for security.  I guess I can see that a CEO with more security than a janitor would have less stress.

 
We also discussed the upcoming photo essay.  This is a pretty cool idea!  I can't wait to see everyone's ideas.  Photo essays should be used for more projects in more classes.  It's way more interesting to not only the person completing the project, but also for those viewing it!  I plan on making naturally cleaning solutions out of things like baking soda and vinegar and testing how well they clean! Pretty exciting stuff! 

Reflection: Weeks 7 & 8

Weeks 7 & 8 brought up some very interesting subjects that I hadn't really been exposed to.

In week 7 we watched a video called "Green".  The video concentrated on cities that sat on the banks of the Mississippi in the southern part of the states, a place dubbed "cancer alley".  It received this nickname because of all the huge chemical production plants that also situated themselves on the Mississippi.  These chemicals are leeching into the water, and into the air, and dramatically decreasing the quality of life for the members of the communities surrounding them.  These communities face higher rates of cancer, asthma, and other negative health effects.  The people affected cry out for help from their local and state government, and from the companies producing the problems, but are ignored.  Their very legitimate concerns are pooh-poohed, and dismissed with hardly a thought.  Why?  Because the companies are making a profit, because the companies have the power, the wealth, and the voice, because they think of these communities as expendable.  Well I think these communities are people like everyone else and no one can put a price on a life.  No one can make the decision that a certain population is disposable.  This documentary highlighted environmental racism, that is the idea that those of lower socioeconomic status and living in minority communities are more exposed to harmful environmental afflictions.  This is in part because rules and regulations are loosely enforces at best for this industries of pollution.  This documentary really lit my injustice light.  How can these things be happening?  And on top of that, how can these things be ignored?

After the movie we were put into two groups: those representing the chemical production companies, and those representing the affected communities.  I was placed on the side of industry.  It was hard to do but when I started thinking as if I were in their shoes it's easy to see why they do it:  they get away with it, they aren't affected by it, and they make a profit.  I would think at some point morality and ethics would set in, but clearly that is not the case.  It's just so hard to change this cycle of injustice.  What can anyone do?  I feel just as powerless as those communities.  I honestly believe that before anything changes, our culture has to make some big changes.  Anyway, the video gave me a lot to think about, and a lot to be thankful about as far as the quality of air I breath and the quality of water I drink, things I would normally take for granted.

In week 8 we watched another documentary called "Thirst".  This film shed some light on the privatization of water issue that's taking place around the world.  I had no idea this was even an issue until this past Monday.  Although the video gave us a good idea of what's happening I still have so many questions!  How can anyone "own" the water supply?  Whose is it to sell off in the first place?  Why dose the world bank have their claws in EVERYTHING?!  It really sucks that water privatization is happening in the states, but it's even more under handed that it's happening in places like India.  How is it that companies like Coca Cola, and Pepsi are draining water right from under homes in India and then selling it back to them for profit?  Water being more expensive for these people than milk is out of control.  I just loved how the video showed individuals in higher positions saying things like "We will sell the water at affordable prices".  How do they determine what is affordable for some of the poorest people on earth?  I just get so ticked off when I see all these big figure heads from the world bank and such places making these decisions.  I mean they live a pretty cozy life, so they don't stand to lose anything from the decisions they make about water rights and rather are bound to make profitable gains.  I found a really comprehensive article on water privatization and in it, it says, "Fortune magazine has predicted that "water is the oil of the 21 century" and corporations are rushing to invest in the water business."  It also stated that, "The World Bank predicts that by 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will suffer from lack of clean and safe drinking water."  I think we all better start standing up for our right to water for life and not for profit before we have to pay an arm and a leg to boil macaroni noodles, or make kool-aid!  My favorite quote from the film was by the man from Bolivia. He said "The people united will not be defeated."  Considering the water crisis that may be in our near future these seem like appropriate words to take to heart. 

Reflection: Weeks 5 & 6

The last two weeks have been informative to say the least...
During week 5 we watched a movie called "The Future of Food".  This movie really stirred up a lot of questions for me.  Mostly about patents on nature and GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).  I mean honestly, this movie just made me so mad.  There is so much injustice in the agriculture industry and I had no idea.  My dad is a farmer in North Dakota and it just really hit home for me when I saw that farmer from North Dakota getting sued by Manosato.  It made me sacred for the future of my own family farm.  Something else that really grinds my gears is the fact that foods that have been genetically modified don't have to have that on their label.  Where's the LIABILITY?!  How are we ever going to know if these things have negative effects on our people if we aren't tracking them?  Corporations who push modified food act like it's going to solve world hunger when we know full well that it isn't necessarily lack of food that's the problem, but lack of equality.  There are just so many problems with our world today and thanks to this class many more are brought to my attention all the time.  It's just so frustrating.

For week 6 we watched a film called "Diet for a New America".  It wasn't too long, but it was interesting.  The narrator was the son in line to inherit the Baskin Robbins empire; however, he turned it down after realizing the negative health and environmental effects of the corporation (and many just like it).  He turned down millions, maybe billions, of dollars to stick to his beliefs which I think it pretty amazing.  I don't think I could be that strong.  Some things that stuck with me from this video was the part where they were just pulling this fatty white sausage link looking material out of the arteries of the heart.  GROSS!  It really freaked me out.  What are Americans doing to themselves?  I mean it's our culture.  To eat out, and eat whatever is convenient, cheap, and available in a hurry is our lifestyle.  It's going to take a lot of effort to change an entire nation's lifestyle, but still it's very important that it does change.  Something else shocking was the idea that there are 4 cows for every 1 person in America?  This provokes the question: how much cow is each individual person eating?  I mean, I don't have any exact statistics, but jeeze!  This video definitely forced me to take a look at my own diet and examine some things I might like to change. 

Reflection: Weeks 3 & 4

Well, there isn't much to say about week 3.  I had a short meeting with Steve.  It was truly helpful though.  I learned of a few things I hadn't done yet, and a few things I didn't even know I had to do!  I'm still kind of playing around with google reader.  So far so good!  I think remembering to keep up with comments is my most significant battle with blogging.

We had an excellent class period during week 4.  We started class with a little question and answer session (prizes included).  I mean, I didn't walk away with tampons, but I guess a paper tablet is pretty good too.  The most significant thing we did on Monday was view a movie called "An Inconvenient Truth".  Al Gore is the narrator.  The film is about global warming and how it's progressing so rapidly. When the data is laid out so plain and simple like that, it's pretty scary.  What's even more scary is how our government seems to be doing so little.  They think by taking a stand on global warming, our economy will suffer.  On the other hand, if we don't do something, we may not have an earth anymore.  How is there even a contest?  It's frustrating because I feel like if our government set some policies in motion more Americans would start taking notice and work to be more eco-friendly.  I guess for now I'll just have to do my part and hope everyone else does as well!

Reflection Post: Week 1 & 2

I enjoyed the first week of Environmental Health.  The ropes activity was a creative way to get us to be critical thinkers.  It’s a good reminder to always look at things from many different angles and to know that problems may very well have multiple solutions.  I feel like that might be a good summary for how this class is going to play out for me.  This was also an important class period because we learned the basics of blogging.  This was definitely a harder concept to grasp than the activity (at least for me)!  However, I’ve found that the more you play around with blogging, the more you learn.  It’s a learn as you go sort of experience!

During week 2 we did a number of things.  We started class with a small slideshow reviewing famous sayings mostly involving gardens and flowers.  We related those sayings to environmental health on a larger scale.  After that we watched a video clip from 60 Minutes about global warming.  Specifically, it was about the government censoring what scientists tell the public about the effects of global warming.  I was really disgusted to find out that the man in charge of editing these reports before they are published was a petroleum lobbyist previous to working in the White House.  Honestly, how can the public make educated decisions when the information isn’t all there?  Also, maybe if they did put out the real information about global warming and how serious it is for our environment people might be more apt to do something about it.  Lastly, we discussed our Read ‘n’ Seed books and our introduction post.  I was excited to choose a book.  When I did take a look at the list I even read the synopses for the books that were already chosen just because they sounded so interesting.  I would definitely add a few of those books to my reading list.  I chose a book called “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight”.  In the description it said that this book was the inspiration for a short video called “Global Warning” in which Leonardo Dicaprio is the narrator.  I checked it out and it was pretty cool.  It pretty much just lays out the problem of global warming plane and simple so that anyone can understand.  You should all check it out!

Happy Friday!

Welcome to Abby's Earth Experiment

Hello! My name is Abby and I'm from East Grand Forks, MN.  I'm a Community Health Education major here at UMD and I also minor in foreign studies and psychology.  I'm a first time blogger, but I'm pretty excited to begin!  My blog is going to focus on what I learn this semester about the environment as it relates to health, and how I implement that knowledge into my life.  I also hope to dig up some interesting things related to environmental health and share them with all of you!  

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
   
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all six kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.

The members of my web group are:

1. Pam @ Pamvironmentally Friendly
   
2. Danielle @ Danielle's Discoveries
   
3. Abby @ Abby's Earth Experiment
   

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!  I look forward to an informative class and an interesting experience this semester!  Come back again soon!

Blogged for the Welcome Linky Party hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy