Share & Voice: Going Green the Today Show

Hey everyone!
I found this video on YouTube about labels and going green and exactly what they mean and how they can get that little sticker you often see on newer products.The energy star is one of the labels you may have seen, this label means that the product has met strict standards on high energy efficient rating, saving you money and energy. Food products also have labels through the government that say it doesn't have pesticides. The site also said what we have all learned in class that it is better to buy local. Learn more by watching the video yourself.

Reflection Post: Week 9 & 10

Week 9:

In the ninth week of Environmental Health we discussed Advocacy in Health Education. As a class we got into three different groups and gave a short presentation. Our groups topic was Advocacy which by definition is active promotion of a cause or principle, it involves actions that lead to a goal, a way to approach a problem, and can be used as part of a community initiative. Advocacy is not a direct service and does not always involve conflict or confrontation. Therefore, our group got up and showed the class one example of advocacy and one example that was not advocacy. Our example of advocacy was people blocking a forest from a bulldozer, in order to save the trees. Our example of what advocacy is not was people building a house, such as what you might see on Extreme Home Makeover. We also discussed what we will be doing for the rest of the semester for our advocacy projects.

Week 10:

In the tenth week of Environmental Health we watched a movie called Unnatural Causes - In Sickness and In Wealth. This movie talked about the connection between health, money, and race. The movie had many interesting facts such as the United States is the 30th country of life expectancy, this means that our country is behind many other countries in living longer lives. It would seem that with all the technology and medicines that our country has available we would be closer to the top ten. Another fact given from the movie was that college graduates live on average two years longer than high school graduates. Another interesting fact was that our country spends $2 trillion on medical care per year. There are 47 million people in the United States without health insurance, although some chose this option but others simply cannot afford it. Overall, I found this video to have a lot of useful information that helps me to look at things from many different perspectives. It is always important to understand that data is interpreted in many different ways and that you should look at the data and interpret things for yourself.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 7: Weekly Update

 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 was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! I also achieved my goal of doing other peoples goals. I also was able to complete others goals. 

Successes and Challenges:  

 I was successful in completing my goal for the week. I also had one day of using four sheets of toilet paper. I walked to school one day last week and felt very good about it, I also saw a few deer along the way! I was not very successful in eating less red meat. This weekend when I was home my mother made a large bowl of chili and sent some back with me to Duluth.

Feelings:

Right now I am a little frustrated because when I went to add a picture it deleted my whole post and then saved it right away so I lost my entire post. Other than that I was feeling pretty good about all my progress for the semester. I was also slightly disappointed because it was only last week that I said I don't drink a lot of pop. However, when I was going home last week I started to get tired, I stopped for gas and also stopped for a can of pop. At least it was a can and not a bottle, there is way less pop in a can than a bottle.

I Learned:

I learned that if I don't have fresh fruits and vegetables at my apartment I don't eat as many and go for a different snack which is usually something that is not as healthy. When I was at home because we had a lot of fruits around that was what I snacked on instead of junk food.

Next Week:

I plan to continue my goal as planned. I also plan to take at least two showers both in 5 minutes or under. I don't think I will walk to school this week as I have to get there at 8am and it is usually pretty cold that early. 


Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 7 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Healthy People 2010 Goal of Interest
I chose to do my advocacy project on the Access to Quality Health Services 

Objective: "To reduce the proportion of families that experience difficulties or delays in obtaining health care or do not receive needed care for one or more family members" stated by Health People 2010

Target Goal: 7% 
Baseline: difficulties or delays in health care occurred in 12% of families and thus these families did not receive the needed care. This information was from 1996, over 13 years ago .

Progress Quotient Chart
Using the Progress Quotient Chart for those with difficulties or that delay in obtaining the needed health care, is moving towards its target, currently  at 20%. This percent was calculated by taking the most recent value minus the baseline value divided by the year 2010 target minus the baseline value, all multiplied by 100 to get this percentage. The most recent year this was tracked was in 1999, which makes the data about 10 years old.

Opportunities and Challenges 
 As many as 47 million Americans are without health care, which is about 15.7% of the total US population. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that as many as 18,000 deaths per year are linked to that person not having health insurance. Most who are uninsured delay treatment for health issues or do not have a regular physician, this results in poor health and increased costs when they do seek treatment. By educating people on the need for seeking treatment you can reduce some of these issues. Challenges then begin to arise as people get older because they sometimes end up in a long term care facility, which Medicare does not always cover in full. This puts the remaining costs on the person staying in the home or their family. This results in a greater demand for home health care and more challenges in meeting the target.


Disparities
White non-Hispanic had the best rate within race and ethnicity, followed by Black non-Hispanic and America Indian or Alaska Native at a most favorable group rate but without having all criteria met. Males had the best rate within gender, followed by females with a 50-99% rate difference from males, females also have an increase in disparities by 10-49 percentage points. Middle/high income, urban or metropolitan, and persons with disabilities had the best rate within income, location, and disability.

Emerging Issues
Primary care and preventative care are current issues surrounding health care. To improve on preventative care The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act added treatment for cardiovascular screening blood test and diabetes screening tests. Another issues are that when people do seek care they go to the emergency room, there are long waiting times which make some people leave before receiving treatment. Long term care is another issue that include workforce issues; such as who is going to take care of those in long term nursing homes as our baby boomers get older. Insurance is another big issue, who is going to cover long term care for elders who need someone to care for them 24 hours a day. 

H.RES.271 : Health Care Reform Referred to House subcommittee
Title: Recognizing the need to support the development and enforcement of a well-informed national long-term care strategy to solve the problems of cost, quality, and access to long-term care in the home and community, and the imperativeness of including long-term care in the comprehensive health care reform agenda. 
Sponsor: Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] (introduced 3/19/2009) Cosponsors (24)
Latest Major Action: The latest major action was taken on May 14, 2009 in which it was referred to the House subcommittee. The current status is that it is being referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. 
Recommendation: Vote Yes, for H.RES.271:Health Care Reform Referred to House subcommittee.
My Political Representative on this is Congressman John Kline.

Read 'n' Seed 4: Third quarter of "Don't Eat This Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America"

Chapters and Pages

For the third quarter of Read 'n' Seed I read chapters 9-12, pages 130 to 198.

Main Topics

One main topic was a study done by Morgan Spurlock, he left some fast food restaurant foods in a jar. Most of the foods in the jars took a while to go bad, with the french fries lasting the longest. It turned into a joke between him and his friend to leave food, specifically fast food, in each others desk. Most of the time the food was found when it started to smell. In another instance food was found after one Morgan Spurlock had left the company, the food had been placed there at least eight months before, the food was not discovered because of the smell but simply because the other person was looking in his desk for an item behind books. This item behind the books that had been there for at least eight months was a cheeseburger from McDonald's. It lasted that long without smelling, that is not normal. It was stated in the book that it lasted that long because of the added chemicals.

Another Main topic was how Morgan Spurlocks 30 day diet had been going. Spurlock complained of his chest feeling heavy, headaches until he ate the food again,and zits and pimples on his face. These reactions were all within the first week of Spurlocks attempt at 30 days of McDonald's. A rather funny part of this book is that a lot of the words he uses start with Mcblank, for example his 30 day diet is called the McMonth. 

The book also suggested the next time you get a burger from your favorite fast food joint, scrape off the added toppings take of the bun and see what the burger actually looks like. Does it look like that normal burger that you cook up on the grill.

Terminology

I did not have any terminology so instead I made this an interesting fact. Most American's don't know the basics about their health, including what a calorie is. A calorie is a measure of the energy content of food. One calorie, the kind that you usually see when you see the caloric content on food labels, is the amount of energy that's needed to raise the temperature of a liter of water by one degree centigrade (Source: Marion Nestle, nutritionist).

Implications

This is very important of society to know, because although this food may make your headache go away, that headache is only being caused as a result of eating the fast food. I think this is also important to realize because as people eat this food more and more they will be think it is normal and not seek any care or change their eating habits.

Share & Voice: Too much paper?

I think everyone should take a look at this. As I was walking around campus the other day I saw this huge stack of books. I went over to see what they were and the sign read: CAMPUS DIRECTORY 2009-2010 take one!

Personally I think this is a big waste of paper and money by our school. To my understanding this is the directory that every student, faculty, or any website visitor can see on the campus website simply be searching people (website link). I would be interested to hear what everyone else has to say about the use of paper and money spent on these. Please leave a comment I would love to hear your opinion.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 6: Weekly Update

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 was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! I also achieved my goal of doing other peoples goals. This week I again walked to school one day, took a shower in under two songs, and used reusable bags when I went to the store.

Success and Challenges:

 This week was not full of any challenges, mainly successes! I felt I was successful in doing my goal and attempting others goals. When I went to the store I remembered to bring a reusable bag to pack my stuff in. I also walked to school on Monday. On Tuesday I took a shower in under two songs, it was great I was able to watch more of the Today Show before going to catch the bus. 
 

Feelings:

I felt really good about this week. Not only did I feel like I got more exercise in the day when walking to school but I also got time to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts. I also felt happy that I used reusable bags because I have them so why not use them. I also was impressed that I was able to shower in about 5 minutes. I really didn't think it was possible, although I had the feeling of being rushed, which normally the shower is really relaxing. 

 

I Learned:  

I learned to take it day by day and slow down. With these last few days being really nice outside I have really taken the time to go outside and enjoy it before there is snow on the ground. I also learned that if I really set my mind to it I can accomplish these goals. For instance I thought there was no way I could get a shower in, in under 6 minutes and I did it in 5 minutes.

Next Week: 

Next week I would like to continue to try other peoples goals, perhaps a day of only four sheets of toilet paper. I thought about limiting my caffeine intake but I rarely drink pop, probably 2 pops a month. I also want to try to eat more vegetables and less red meat. Red meat and more vegetables might be a bit of a challenge because I am trying to eat the food I currently have at my apartment before going to the store again. Unfortunately I have left over tacos and no fresh vegetables. 





Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 6 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

President : Barack Obama (Democratic Party)

                1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

                Washington, DC 20500         

                (202) 456-1111

U.S. Representative : Congressman John Kline (Republican Party)

                                101 West Burnsville Parkway, Suite 201

                                Burnsville, MN 55337

                                (952) 808-1213

Senator District 38: Jim Carlson (Democratic Party)

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

                              Capitol Building, Room G-9

                              St. Paul, MN 55155-1606

                              (651)297-8073

State Representative: Sandra Masin (Democratic Party)

                                 527 State Office Building

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

                                Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155

                                (651)296-3533

Governor: Tim Pawlenty (Republican Party)

                130 State Capitol

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

                St. Paul, MN 55155

                (651)296-3391

                

U.S. Senate: Alan Franken (Democratic Party)               

                     60 East Plato Blvd., Suite 220

                     Saint Paul, MN 55107

                     (651) 221-1016

                     Amy Klobuchar (Democratic Party)

                     1200 Washington Avenue South, Suite 250

                     Minneapolis, MN 55415

                     (612) 727-5220

County Board President: Kathleen Gaylord (Democratic Party)

                                     1590 Highway 55

                                     Hastings MN 55033

                                     (651) 438-4428

City of Eagan Mayor: Mike Maguire (Non-Partisan)

                                 3830 Pilot Knob Road

                                 Eagan, MN  55122

                                 (651) 675-5001

Advance Blog Feature: My Sign

Made with My Cool Signs.Net

Share & Voice: Sustainability in Health Care

I am a health care management major and last week in my health care class we discussed sustainability within health care. Some of it goes along with what we have talked about in  our environmental health class. I found many a lot of what we talked about in class to be very interesting and wanted to share it with everyone.

Greening the Industry:

In my health care class we talked about ways to green the industry. Some of these ways are to have evidence based medicine, diagnostics, treatment that involves working with the body, devices and pharmaceuticals, coordination across disciplines with allopathic and alternative medicine, and green research.

The Suspects:

Some of the suspects in health care are waste such as medical waste and recycling, chemical management, device management, environmentally preferable purchasing such as packaging and production, sustainable foods such as local or organic, and facility management and green buildings.

Interesting Facts:

-Health care is the second highest engergy using industry behind transportation. If you think about it all over the United States hospitals are open 24 hours a day seven days a week, this causes a lot of energy use. As new hospitals are being build or renewed it is important that they are finding ways to make the building more environmentally friendly.

-Although it is not possible for a hospital to buy locally grown foods because of the amount of food they must have the health care industry seems to be moving towards more friendly products. The reason a hospital like St. Luke's, here in Duluth cannot buy locally is due to the fact that if St. Luke's wanted to buy tomatoes here, the entire years supply of tomatoes grown in Duluth would only last St. Luke's one month.

Current Green Health Care Participants:

-Pharmaceutical Manufactures

-Supply Manufacturers

-Architects

-Community Members

-Foundations

-International Provider Organizations

-World Health Organization (WHO)

I hope this is as interesting for you to learn about as it was for me.

Reflection Post: Week 7 & 8

 Week 7:

In the seventh week of Environmental Health we watched a documentary called Green and discussed the upcoming smoking ban forum with our class and a guest speaker from the American Lung Association. 
Green: I was so impressed this documentary was done by a graduate student from Texas. Not only was the documentary well done but it also did a really good job of showing what was going on in the world and specifically on cancer ally as it was called in the documentary. Cancer ally is on the Mississippi River running from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. After the documentary we had a discussion on it, for this discussion we split into two groups, the people that lived in the city and the people/company harming the city with their chemicals. I was on the side of the people living in the city, I had a much easier side to argue than the other half of the class. This discussion was really helpful because it made you look at things in a different perspective. 

Smoking Ban Discussion: In class we were informed about what would take place at the smoking ban forum by a representative of the American Lung Association. We discussed the up coming smoking ban forum that would be going on at UMD on Tuesday October 27th. People voiced their opinions in class and what they would say if they went to the forum. I went to the smoking forum the next day and saw some of my classmates there and was very glad some people were able to go and of those that spoke at the forum. 

  Week 8:

In the eighth week of Environmental Health we, watched a documentary called Thirst and discussed the smoking ban forum and those who went talked about their experience. It was also Mal and my week to bring snack, we brought in raisins and almonds (which were not salted) for the class.

Thirst: One thing I really liked about this movie was the fact that they broke it up and showed both view points instead of just one. The two of the view points they showed were that of the community and their group and the mayor of the city along with the council members. The documentary discussed stopping the privatization of water, one point that was brought up by the people was that if they did allow the privatization of water in Stockton, California, they feared it would end up like gas prices. The citizens of Stockton wanted the right to vote on this matter, therefore they went to get signatures of people in the area. In the end they were not able to get enough signatures and were not allowed to vote. One thing I really questioned was the mayor's motives and what he was getting out of it. He did not seem to be for the people but rather looking out for himself, I am guessing he doesn't get reelected in Stockton.
Smoking Ban Discussion: The smoking ban was discussed  in class, for those that went talked about their experiences and those that did not were able to hear what happened even if they couldn't go. It was fun to hear about what other people thought of the smoking ban forum. I found that I agreed with what a lot of other people in the class had to say. Within this discussion it was was brought up the importance of not judging people based on appearance and what they say. I felt that at the smoking forum you could tell who smoked and who did not. I feel that I should have been a little more considerate before coming to these conclusions with perhaps not enough information.  

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update

 

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 was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! My other goal was to check in on my mother and see how she was doing with a reusable water bottle. This week on Monday I also decided to try walking to school, which is a few of my class members goal. It was actually a lot of fun and I would like to walk when it is still nice outside.

Success and Challenges: 

I felt successful this week because I used only my reusable water bottle. I however did drink out of one plastic water bottle this week. I could have prevented drinking from a plastic water bottle but did not think about it ahead of time. The instance was when I was donating blood over the weekend. I went to a blood drive that I had signed up for and when you are finished they want you to drink lots of fluids to replenish. When I was done donating they gave me a water bottle and a snack at what they call the snack station. I of course drank the water from the plastic water bottle, while I was waiting to be able to leave. I should have thought about this ahead of time because I have donated blood before and know they have you drink water after, of course my reusable water bottle was in the car, but I had to wait 10 minutes to leave and needed to drink wanted right then. A challenge this week was when I talked to my mother about her switching to a reusable water bottle. I asked my mother how it was going with her reusable water bottle and she told me that she lost it. I was rather disappointed. I decided that instead of getting a $4 water bottle that she didn't really care about and probably lost it at work, I am going to show her some of the really cool water bottles that we have talked about in class, like the glass ones. May be this way she will have more interest and will be more careful about where she sets it down.

Feelings:

I felt frustrated when I found out my mother lost her water bottle because I told her about how she will save and all these important things that go along with reusable water bottles. In the end I was disappointed because it seemed like she didn't care. I hope to get her on the right track with a new water bottle.

I Learned:

I learned this week that it takes time to make changes, may be it was easier for me to switch to reusable water bottles because it is actually something that I want to do and for my mother may be she didn't want to switch yet. I also thought that may be she didn't care about the goal because she didn't track it and measure her goal or even set goals for herself.

Next Week: 

I plan to continue on my goal of drinking only out of my reusable water bottle. I also plan to think ahead on when I might actually need my water bottle so that I am not using a plastic water bottle even if it is being offered to me. This week I would also like to use reusable bags when I go to the store for groceries or items I need. To make my goal a little more challenging I want to start trying out other people's goals for a day or two. 


Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part I:
Antiques: a work of art, piece of furniture, or decorative object made at an earlier period, and according to many customs laws, at least 100 years ago.
Antiquing: Producing a rich glow on the surface of a leather by applying stain, wax, or oil, allowing it to set, and rubbing or brushing the leather.
Junk: any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags.
Flea Market: a market, often outdoors, consisting of a number of individual stalls selling old or used articles, curios and antiques, cut-rate merchandise, etc.
Thrift Shop: A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization.
Upcycling: involves processing used materials into new products, or the re-use of a product with crippled functionality for alternative purposes, to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production, with the intent of creating a product of higher quality design and artistic value.
Resale Shop: The selling of a good to another party after having purchased it.

Part II:
1.What do the terms above have to do with environmental health?
      The terms above have to do with environmental health because they all have to do with some for or reusing or continuing the use of items that some people might normally throw away.
2. Identify at least one local resource for each of the terms above...provide name, location, contact info, and link to website or blog.
Antiques: Father Time Antiques
395 S Lake Ave
Duluth, MN 55802 
(218)625-2379

Junk: Jadco Special Haulers

4011 Rehbein Rd, Duluth, MN

(218) 724-5538‎

Products and Services: Recycling, Scrap Materials, Waste Materials

Flea Market: Lake Superior College
2101 Trinity Road
Duluth, MN 55811

Thrift Shop: Dannie Duluth
932 E 4th St
Duluth, MN 55805-2150
(218) 724-8507

Upcycling: I couldn't find anything in Duluth, I did find this from definition and a bit more information from about.com.Upcycling is "The practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value" From the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.

Resale Shop: Plato's Closet
5115 Burning Tree Road
Suite 315C
Duluth, MN 55811
218-733-9455

3. Identify whether you do any or use any of these things. Why or why not?
I honestly am not currently using any of these places. I have in the past been to Plato's closet to sell my clothes and then while I was there looked around to see if there was anything I might want to buy. I tend to go to some of these places to search for Halloween costumes. I don't know why I don't use these places, especially if I am willing to sell them my clothes for others to use. I think as I get older I like to spend my money on things that look nicer. I would buy from these places but I guess with all the big stores out there and being able to save money through sales, I never really thought about looking at second hand items such as clothes.

Part III:
Paris Themed Necklace
This one grabbed my attention because I really like to wear necklaces and having been to Paris, I found this to be really cool and something I would wear myself and would be interested in learning how to make it.
  Simple Monday
This caught my attention because deer hunting season is starting soon and its amazing what you can do with a few things you find outside.
Sometimes its okay to break a dish
I absolutely love this one because once in a high school art class we used broken tiles and made them into a picture (this is called mosaic art). Ever since then I have wanted to do another one but to buy all the materials would be expensive. I think mosaic art is something I want to pick up as a hobby when I am done with college, until then I will just buy mosaic art pieces that I see.

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second quarter of "Don't Eat this Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America"

Chapters and Pages

For the second quarter of Read 'n' Seed I read chapters 6-8, pages 75-129.

Topics

One topic covered was that Morgan Spurlock had three different doctors he saw over the course of the 30 day McDonald's only food period. The three doctors specialized in gastroenteritis and hematologist, cardiologist, and an . Morgan Spurlock had a physical before he started his McDonald's only diet and he weighed approximately 185.5 pounds, I am excited to read about what he weighed when he was done with the 30 McDonald's only diet.
I also read about the amount of calories in the salads that fast food places makes, in one McDonald's Fiesta Salad there is 450 calories. This does not seem that bad for a fast food place but of that 450 calories, 56% from fat and 26% from saturated fat. Now that is not very good for a salad that is supposed to be good for you. To put that into perspective it has a higher percentage of saturated fat than a Double Cheeseburger.
"Some scientists believe that those 10 teaspoons of sugar you slurp down in a 12 ounce soda may stimulate the same part of your brain, the reward circuits, that cocaine and nicotine do." This is really interesting. I am not much of a pop drinker but someone of my friends say they need a pop every morning or they just feel they have an off day.
I also found it interesting that even Monsanto could some how be brought into this book. Monsanto is the same company we saw from in The Future of Food, the movie we watched in class a few weeks ago. Monsanto was brought into the book because of their development of artificial sweeteners in the early 1900's.

Terminology 
Gastroenterologist is the study of the digestive system
Hematologist is the study of blood 
Internist is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis, management and nonsurgical 

Implications
I think it is important to understand the food that you are putting into your body. I like to get salads if I do go to a fast food place, for instance if I am traveling. I just assumed that they would be the best option but I learned this week that you really have to look into what you are eating and not just assume that because it is a salad that it is healthy. It is important for others to understand this too as it is pretty well known in society that salads are good for you, but you really have to take into account what is in the salad besides lettuce.

Share & Voice: UMD Smoking Ban Forum

On Tuesday October 27, I attended UMD's Smoking Ban Policy Forum. I was very surprised by the amount of people that showed up, there were much fewer people than I expected. There were representatives from student organizations, American Lung Association, UMD police department, health services, faculty, and the student body.

I am in favor of the current smoking ban on the UMD campus. I personally do not think shelters will help anything. I think that there needs to be some kind of fine set up for students caught smoking on campus grounds. I know it will cost money to implement this change but I would rather have my money (if it is going to come from tuition) go to paying a person to ticket people rather than to shelters for people to smoke.

It was brought up at the forum that it is peoples right to smoke, I agree with this but it is also my right not to smoke and not have to inhale second hand smoke every time I want to walk into a building. There were people at the forum who brought up interesting points like how it is becoming a social change, you can no longer smoke near hospitals, on airplanes, in MN in public establishments, and now moving to Universities. There were others there who clearly smoked and voiced their opinions, which at times did not make much sense and almost seemed to contradict what they were saying. It was also brought up that as incoming freshman see that you are not allowed to smoke on campus, it will help to change UMD to a smoke free campus (as long as people obey the rule and are not smoking on campus). I think this it is going to take a few years to see a change with this smoking ban. I hope that UMD moves forward in this ban and no backwards.

Oh and the American Lung Association handed out free t-shirts that said, "I am a designated no smoking area." Very clever.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

1. 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 was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! My other goal was to get my mom to use a reusable water bottle. I was successful in this goal as we went to the store and got her a good reusable water bottle that she would use. We were able to find her one that was about equivalent to a standard plastic water bottle so she could fill it up with the easy to go flavoring water she likes.

2. I felt very successful in getting my mother a water bottle and getting her to use it. While I was home she used it for two days straight. It was however a bit of a challenge when she said she doesn't like the water bottle because it leaks a little bit. I am not sure if the cap was not on tight enough or if the water bottle is just not the best one out there. If so I plan to deal with this by going back and getting her a better water bottle that I have used and know will be a good product.


3. I felt very excited and proud that my mom was so willing to change to a reusable water bottle. I think a lot of people want to change they just don't have someone telling them why they should change. I also felt a bit frustrated when the water bottle was leaking but that is easily fixable with a new water bottle or making sure the cap is one tight enough.


4. I learned that some people just need that little extra push in telling them about the benefits of using a reusable water bottle and not using a plastic water bottle. For my mother she knew it was not making sense financially to buy plastic water bottles and only knew a little about the environmental effects it has, therefore I was able to inform her a little more.

5. My plans for next week are to continue using a reusable water bottle every day. I also plan to check in on my mother and make sure that she is using hers and that she is happy with the switch. If she is unhappy with her water bottle I want to go get her a new one so that she can stick to her goal too.  I also plan to talk with my brother and his wife to see what they use for water bottles while they are at work and while they workout.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

This week it was assigned to go to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and search one product that we use. I decided to search for the mascara I use, called Maybelline full n' soft mascara black. The mascara I use is rated at a six out of 10 on the scale, a six is indicated as moderate hazard. Research studies indicated that this mascara is not linked to cancer, but is linked to developmental/reproductive toxicity, violations, restrictions, and warnings, and allergies/immunotoxicity. The website also gave the ingredients, directions, and warnings from packaging.The ingredients were also listed and gave their hazardous rating. This is good to know because then you can look at the 10's and see which ingredients you should for sure stay away from and what they can do to be hazardous to your body.

This doesn't concern me because I feel this is very minimal, but it does make me wonder what other products have in them that are really dangerous that most don't know about. It is interesting how so much information is not given out to the public. There are a lot that people do not read about this and probably will never see this. It makes me wonder what else I do not know about that is potentially dangerous to me. It is important to think critically here and think about what the actual harm might be to your body. It may be that these products might not do a whole lot to your body or that these products can do a lot of damage. I think I might trust this information more if I knew a little bit more about who is putting up this information and how accurate the information is.

Reflection Post: Week 5 & 6

In the fifth week of Environmental Health we watched a movie called The Future of Food. I found this movie to be very interesting and eye opening. I could not believe how much is going on that I simply am unaware of. The main point of the movie was about a big company called Monsanto who was suing large land farmers for infringement on their patent. They were able to do this because it is a law that you can patent almost anything. I also was shocked how many of the people that worked for Monsanto went back and forth between Monsanto and The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Linda Fisher was one of these people and I think that she actually went from Monsanto to the EPA to Monsanto to the EPA, now who knows where she is working.
In the sixth week of Environmental Health we watched a movie called Diet for a New America. Although the movie was over 15 years old, many of the facts are still present today. Not a lot of people are changing their ways even though more of America is becoming obese. The movie was mainly given from a man who chose not to take his fathers famous ice cream business and set out to do other things like create more awareness of what is going on in America. I found this movie to be interesting. I don't think America will be doing much changing in regard to the weight issue because it has been 15 years since this movie and it seems we aren't any healthier, if anything may be a little more unhealthy. We also learned how to put a picture in the main box of our blog page. I took my picture when I was at Gooseberry Falls this Fall. It is fun to look at everyone's pictures they put up on their blog.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

1. 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 was able to achieve my smart goal because last week, my plan was to finish the two water bottles I currently had. I successfully drank the last two water bottles and drank from my reusable water bottle the entire week!

2. It was again challenging to remember to grab my water bottle and fill it up before I left. I am thinking of leaving one of my water bottles at school in my locker so that if I do forget one I can always have one there and will not have to buy water. Then of course bring it home on weekends and switch out water bottles. I think it is also going to be a little bit challenging this weekend because I am going home. At home is where I got started on drinking from a plastic water bottle.


3. I felt very accomplished this week. I felt them as I was thinking about what I was going to write and realized that I was able to accomplish my goals for the week. I hope my goal continues to go well and that I am able to stick to it so I can continue to fell good about doing my part.

4. This week I learned that my goal might be a little easier than I expected it to be. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it a little more challenging I am open to suggestions.I hope to get my mom to switch to reusable water bottles over the weekend.

5. Since I am going home this weekend my goal is to get my mom to switch to reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles. This is going to be hard because she likes the convenience of it and likes that she can just add her crystal light mix and take it to go. I hope that I can find her a reusable water bottle that is the same size that she can fill up with water and her crystal light. I hope over the weekend I am able to change my mom over to reusable water bottles and to think of a way to make my SMART goal a little more challenging.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Read 'n' Seed 2: First quarter of "Don't Eat this Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America"

Chapters and Pages 

I started my book this week called, "Don't Eat this Book, Fast Food and the SUPER Sizing of America." I am extremely happy with the book I chose to read, so far it has been very interesting. I read chapters one through five (pages 1-74) for the first quarter of read 'n' seed.

Main Topics 

The main topics of my book were facts about most American's eating habits. Within this it was talked about the how 65% of American adults are overweight, while 30% are obese (See bellow for definition). Childhood obesity is also a huge issue in America, and causes growing health concerns. Type II diabetes is the kind you can develop through bad diet and excess weight. Type II diabetes is just one of the health issues children are likely to face if their weight is not within healthy averages. One fact that really stuck out at me was that in 1970 there were about 70,000 fast food establishments in America, 186,000 in 2001. McDonald's alone has 14,000 in America, and 31,000 worldwide. In 1986 in reaction to the opening of the first McDonald's in Rome, started the "Slow Food" movement. According to the book "Slow Food" means old-fashioned cooking,with real, fresh ingredients grown and raised in environmentally sound ways. This movement has surprisingly even moved in to the United States, among 45 other counties (when this book was wrote, now to 132 countries).

Terminology

I learned the difference between overweight and obesity. Overweight is when your weight is 10% over the healthy weight for your height. Obese is when you are 30% over the health weight for your height. I was unaware of the "Slow Food" movement before reading about it in my book, and found it to be very interesting.

Implications
I think that as long as a person cares about their health they should care about obesity in America and what they are putting into their mouth. I don't think obesity is anything new in America, most have known that if you don't exercise and eat well you will probably gain weight. To address this issue I think more can be done to teach children when they are younger about proper nutrition and forms of exercise. Yes we all had gym and recess in elementary school and were able to get out running around in then, but now some school are cutting these two things from their programs. Granted it is not many school but it is one way we are only going to dig ourselves in a deeper hole. The book also implied that people need to change no just for them but for their kids because more learn by watching. I agree with this idea, some kids simply follow in their families footsteps of eating habits.