Reflection Post: Week 13 & 14

Week 13:

In the thirteenth week of Environmental Health we went on a class field trip to Goodwill. We were really lucky to be able to go on a tour of the Duluth Goodwill. We were able to see the entire process of items at goodwill. It all starts when a person comes a donates items, the items are then brought to be sorted into different bins. Some of the donations go to other goodwill stores depending on if they are running low on any items. Goodwill also has a very cool mattress process that we learned about. They will be starting with a new machine that will allow them to put in three mattress and in one hour it will compact it into one heavy block. We then had an activity where each group got $20 (not really money) to create a room, find family gifts, get ready for an interview, or get ready for the prom. My groups job was to find an outfit to get ready for the prom in under $20. We were able to do it with only spending $18.50. With this much money we were able to find a yellow dress, white shoes, a clutch, a necklace, and earrings. It was a really eye opening to experience this and I felt I learned a lot. This experience really changed how I look at Goodwill as a company and as a store.

Week 14: 

In the fourteenth week of Environmental Health we continued our education on junking. Sue Whitney was supposed to be our guest speaker, she is the author and owner of JunkMarket. As a class we shared our junking projects with the class. It was really fun to see what everyone came up with. We then had a class discussion of what we learned from the class. It was really interesting to hear what everyone had to say. It looks like everyone was able to take away a lot of important topics from this class. We also had  really fun snacks, chocolate covered strawberries and puppy chow. It was a great way to end the semester! 

This is my junk project. I took two magazines that I had in my apartment and folded the pages. I did this to make it look like a Christmas tree. My goal was not to spend any money on this project. If I was going to spend money though, I would have painted it and then put glitter on it to make it look more like a Christmas tree. Although, it turned out really cool with the different colored pages. 

Overall Course Reflection:

Wow I can't believe I am doing an overall reflection of this course. It seems as though there is no way 15 weeks have already gone by. It seems as if it was just yesterday I was sitting in the classroom thinking I would never be able to understand blogging. Dr. V told us all that by the end of the class we would be pros at this. I of course didn't believe her then. Now look at all of us we are blogging like pros. Who would have thought; Dr. V.

This semester has been a lot of fun! I have learned everything from how to blog to be a junker. Over the course of the semester we have watched documentaries that are amazing, opening my eyes to things I never knew. We have also learned more about ourselves by setting lifestyle changes to complete over the semester. We have done numerous activities that have opened our eyes to the ways we affect the environment. We learned how to stand up and show our voices on a project we truly believe in. We were able to pick a book of our choice that related to the environment or society in some way and reflect on the impact it has on society. We were able to go on a field trip to Goodwill and learn more about their business and working environment. Lastly, we have shared topics with our classmates that are interesting to us.

I have truly enjoyed this class and feel that I have gained a lot from environmental health. i really think it helped having the smaller class size, with this everyone was able to share their opinions. It was the small class size that really made this class work. I feel this class is unlike any other class I have taken. I think that leaving this class has actually changed me for the better. I have learned a lot of real world knowledge that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life. I hope that I will be able to influence others and help then to take action to protect out environment. I would recommend this class to other students as I feel you not only learn about the environment but you also learn a lot about yourself.

Thanks everyone for making this such a great class!
 

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Keith's Activity:

Title: Childhood Obesity Lesson!

Quiz:
1.Children as young as 8 years old are being diagnosed with diabetes?

Answer: True
2.Can some of these illnesses “actually” kill these children?

Answer: True
3.The doctors had to purchase 2 scales to weight children that were over 200 lbs?

Answer: False, for children 350 pounds
4.Dave's dad died at age 52 from a stroke?

Answer: True
5.John Marx is in shape and healthy?

Answer: False, but working his way there
6.Parents are not to blame for childhood obesity?

Answer:  False, I think in some instances parents are but there are other issues. Example: School lunches.

Childhood obesity seems to be getting out of control, this video aired in 2003 and the issue only seems to be getting worse. I hope that others will get educated on the subject and realize the issue at hand.

Kristin's Activity:

Title: Quit Smoking Quiz

I took Kristin's smoking quiz and was able to score a 90/100. The only question I got wrong was regarding which ethnic group smoked the most. I feel that I am well educated on the issue of smoking. For me, it may be because I have watched family members smoke and have noticed some of the issues associated with smoking.

Jake's Activity:

Questions
1. What % of children worldwide are either obese or overweight?
Answer: 10%
2. True or False? Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing.
Answer: True
3. What are some early effects in the psychosocial system of childhood obesity?
Answer: poor self esteem, anxiety, depression 

4. The current generation of children has consumed higher levels of ______ and _________ than ever before.
Answer: soft drinks and fast food.
5. True or False? Diet and Genetics are the two largest factors leading towards childhood obesity.

Answer:  False, TV and video games 

All of these activities were a really cool way to learn more about childhood obesity and smoking. These activities really should the current issues facing children and adults.  Hopefully there will be something done about childhood obesity and the number of people that smoke. However, until then we can only continue to educate others on the subject. By making people more knowledgeable they will better understand the importance of these issues.

Advocacy Project: Fitness Quiz

Title: Fitness Quiz

Purpose: The purpose of this quiz is to test your knowledge on fitness and fitness activities. By being more knowledgeable in different fitness areas you can improve your health and wellness. 

Reasoning: By improving your health you will be less at risk for many different diseases. Working out is a great way for a person to stay away from the doctor. By being healthier many people benefit. Costs for insurance will go down as working out increases health. Some insurance companies even offer to pay a portion of gym memberships. It is important to learn about fitness and exercise as it can improve your health.


Instructions:

Click on Fitness Quiz below and it will transfer you to the website.

Fitness Quiz

Then click on Take the Test.

After you are done with the test read what it says about your fitness knowledge.

Record your score and report back about what you learned.

Sources: 

Discovery Health
The Importance of Fitness
Health Partners

Read 'n' Seed 6: Final Review of "Don't Eat this Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America"

Overview:

The book I chose to read was called "Don't Eat This Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America" by: Morgan Spurlock. This book was based off of Morgan Spurlock's documentary called Super Size Me.This book was about Spurlock's experience with eating McDonald's fast food for 30 days straight. This included breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if it wasn't on the McDonald's menu, he couldn't eat it. He also included that when the person behind the cash register asked him if he wanted to super size his order he had to say yes. The book also included many food facts and helpful nutritional information. Spurlock over his 30 day experiment gained 24.5 pounds.

Three Significant Takeaways:

The first significant thing about this book was the amount of weight Spurlock put on over 30 days. He put on 24.5 pound over the course of his experiment. This is a huge concern as many people do not notice how much weight they are packing on when they eat fast food.

The second significant thing about this book was that Spurlock was considered healthy by doctors before he started his experiment. By the time he was almost done doctors were begging him to stop because of all the health issues he was already experiencing. Spurlock showed signs of heart disease, lung, and other health risks after 30 days of fast food.
The third significant thing about this book was how much I learned about nutrition. I was able to learn about foods that most think are good for you but can actually be worse. One thing specifically was fake sugar, that it actually isn't any better for you than regular sugar.

 

Why Is It Important:

I think this is really important as obesity is an issue that affects most American's. Even if you are not struggling with your weight, chances are you  know someone who is. This book is really informational and may help people to take a step in the right direction. This book has really changed how I look at fast food. Since reading this book I have ate less fast food. I believe since the semester began I have had fast food three times. Which is less than once a month. After reading this book I plan to cut fast food out of my diet completely. It's amazing what reading one book can really do for your life.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to anyone. I really felt that this book opened my eyes to big fast food companies and exactly what they are doing to make their business grow. I know that I am going to pass this book onto my family and friends as I thought it was really informational. If reading isn't quite your thing or you think you just don't have time Morgan Spurlock wrote this book off of his documentary Super Size Me. This documentary has a some of the same information in it, but not everything the book has. Overall, from reading the book or watching the movie you will be able to get a good idea of what exactly is going on in the fast food industry.

Share & Voice: Environmentally ConsciousOptions (ECO)

I saw a television commercial about a company called Environmentally Conscious Options (ECO) and decided to look at their website and find out more. ECO is located in Duluth, MN and is founded by Julie McDonnell. ECO has products you can use when building your home that are "easy on the environment." The store offers items such as Eco friendly tile, Eco friendly flooring, earth inspired hardware, non-toxic wall covering, green home furnishings, and earth friendly counter tops.

I thought this was a really cool business. I was really surprised to find something like this in Duluth, usually these type of places are in bigger cities.

The store is located at:

400 West Superior Street
Duluth, MN 55802
phone: 218.626.1118
fax: 218.727.2104

Website: Eco-Living Space

                         

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10: Overall Project Reflection

SMART Goal: 

My SMART goal is to use a reusable water bottle instead of a plastic water bottle everyday for the rest of the semester and hopefully the rest of my life. I didn't change anything with my individual SMART goal. I was able to complete me goal every week and therefore decided to try out other class members goals. I had a lot of fun trying out others goals. I was able to walk to school, use four pieces of toilet paper, shower in under five minutes, and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Success:
I felt really successful over the course of the semester. I think what most helped me to be successful was that this was a goal I wanted to do for myself before class began. By having this lifestyle change I had motivation to implement my goal of switching to a reusable water bottle everyday. The only thing that really that got in my way was going home. When I went home it was a little more of a challenge because my mother does buy plastic water bottles. However, I did not have any issues with this as I continued to use my water bottle. In the future I can address this by helping my mother to switch to a reusable water bottle.

My Benefits:

I felt that I benefited from this project in many ways. One way that I was able to benefit was by saving money. This entire semester I did not spend any money on plastic water bottles. I decided to figure out exactly how much I saved:  I figured one case of water is about $4.50 and I would have to buy that every 20 days and over the course of the semester (14 weeks). Therefore, I saved $22.05 over 14 weeks by using a reusable water bottle that I already had and did not have to purchase. Another benefit was that I was drinking more water. I tend to drink a lot of water in general and therefore would spend a lot on bottled water but this way I drank more water at no cost! I learned that now I know exactly how much water I drink as my water bottle has measurements on the side. I thought this was really cool to see and thought it was very informative. I also learned that by drinking more water I feel a lot better throughout the day. I think drinking water also improves on your diet. A lot of the time people eat because they think they are hungry when really they are just thirsty.

Environmental Benefit: 

By not drinking bottled water and drinking from a reusable water bottle, I was able to reduce the amount of waste in landfills. Others benefited because I was able to influence them to make the switch. I was able to help others understand why this is so important for them and for the environment. A lot of people thought it was going to be a challenge but once they got started they realized that it just becomes routine, as it did for me. Although this is a small part in the world, I felt really good about what I was able to accomplish. This is a change for the rest of my life and am really proud of my accomplishment.

Continuing Behavior:

I plan to continue this behavior for the rest of my life. I feel I have truly changed something for the better in my life and made a change that benefits the environment.  I think as I continue using my reusable water bottle other friends and family members of mine will also make the switch. I hope that when I am home more frequently I am able to get my mother to make the switch also.

Recommendations: 

I would suggest to other that want to make the switch to start off small. Finish using the bottled water that you have. Only drink two to three of the bottled water a week and the rest of the time use a reusable water bottle. Then begin to decrease your bottled water intake and add in more reusable water bottle time. Before you know it the bottled water will be gone and you will be use to using a reusable water bottle. It is important not to buy any more bottled water because then you are just back at stage one. Instead buy a different reusable water bottle. This will switch things up and make it more fun for you. I also have been thinking about what to do when hosting a party. It always seems like the best idea to get bottled water for your guests but there has to be a better and more environmentally friendly way of having water at a get together or a party. 

 Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

December 5, 2009

Mrs. Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senate

302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Amy Klobuchar,

The proposed Health Care Reform Act will benefit all 46 million people without insurance and those with insurance in the United States. Many people support the current bill and realize the benefits of the Health Care Reform Act. By passing the Health Care Reform Act American’s will be able to seek preventive care. Instead people without insurance are seeking the most expensive type of care, the emergency room. I firmly believe this Act will benefit the United States as it will provide 46 million American’s with health insurance coverage. Health insurance coverage would drastically improve the lives of many American’s without coverage and those with basic coverage. It is understandable that the many American’s who currently have health insurance will see a bit of change. However, in the long run everyone will benefit from the Health Care Reform Act.

I appreciate your support of the bill that would allow the United States to have health insurance coverage for everyone. I hope you see the opportunity for many American’s without health insurance and vote yes on H.R. #3962.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my support for the Health Care Reform Act.

Sincerely,

Amanda B.

Normally you should include your full name with address and phone number included. However, I chose not to put that information on here as it would be available for people I do not know to see.