Reflections: Week 13 & 14 and Overall Course Reflection

Week 13
This week I wrote my advocacy letter to Representative Joe Hoppe about why school lunch subsidies should be increased. Class also met at GoodWill Industries today. We went on a tour, which was really interesting. I couldn't believe how BIG it was! It's awesome that they employ people who may have trouble finding jobs because of certain disabilities they may have.  I also thought the machine that crushed mattresses was awesome; so cool that someone from Duluth invented that! Once we were in the actualy store of the GoodWill we split into groups for an activity. My group and I put together an outfit that would be appropriate attire for a job interview for only $20.

Week 14
This week I put together an 'eye-opener' for my group to complete that I had to do with my advocacy project. I also, completed the eye-openers that my group members had created. It was really funn to see what everyone came up with! During class we had a discussion about the class, and what we had learned. We also had a fun conversation about fast/slow drivers and why it is that people may do that.


Overall Course Reflection
I have learned SO much throughout this course. The documentaries that we watched during class were my favorite part!  Everyone one that we watched I found to be so interesting, and just packed with information that I has never heard before. I also really enjoyed doing my eco-chic lifestyle change. I pretty much always use my re-usable bags now, and I don't think it would have become such a habbit if I hadn't written about it each week. I also find myself telling people stuff that I have learned in this class ALL the time. Or making little comments if someone is doing something that I know isn't environmentally friendly. It was also really beneficial for me for learn how to blog. Now matter what job I end up with, I can probably somehow incorporate it.
I really enjoyed this class, and got A LOT out of it!

Here's my Junking project! I made the hat from the sleve of an oversized sweater.

I folded up the bottom part, and applied a little fabric glue. Then I bunched the top

part together, added some fabric glue and a clear rubber band, and added

a cotton ball on the top!

Share 'N' Voice: Toxic Toys

Toxic toys are all over the place in the U.S. According to the Environmental News Service 1 in every 3 toys out of the 1,500 toys tested before last year's holiday season tested positive for toxins. Such as mercury and arsenic!

HealthyStuff.org was created by the Ecology Center, which is a non-profit environmental organization. They created 4 lists of toys that range from 'No levels of Concern' to 'High Levels of Concern'. Below I have links to the high and medium levels. But you can find all of the lists HERE.

List of toys in the U.S. that contain HIGH levels of toxins.

Princess Sandles

contain high levels

of Bromine.

Medium Levels of Toxins.

<"Baby's First: Giggles"
Contain medium levels of
Chlorine.

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Jordanne's Online Learning Activity: Water Quality Problem Solver
The purpose of this eye opener was to look at the possible contaminants that may be in our drinking water. Also, to find solutions if you realize there are contaminants in your water.

From the Water Quality Sypmtom Search Engine the fist contaminat I chose to look at was when my water has a reddish/orange color. I chose this because I have come across water that looked like this. The contaminent making it this color was iron. 
*Effects that iron has on my water: it may give it a rusty color, can cause reddish/orange stains, and may give the water a metallic taste.
*The source of this contaminent is from natural deposits.

*Different treatments include: Filtration, Oxidation/Precipitation/Filtration, Disinfection

The second contaminent I chose to look more into was under the catagory of the water causing spots on glassware, dishes, and flatware. I chose this becuase this is also a problem I have come across from time to time. This contaminent causing this can be caused by either hard water(measured as Calcium Carbonate,CaCO3)  or total dissolved solid s(TDS)


CaCo3

*Sources of the Contaminent in Drinking Water: Natural deposits that cause calcium and magnesium salts in raw water

*Effects: Consumes soap, making cleaning more difficult. The CaCo3 can cause whitish scale deposits.
*Treatment: Use a water softener that removes all calcium and magnesium ions in water


TDS
. *Effects: caused hard water and deposits on glasses

*Sources of this contaminent are from: Natural deposits or brackish water intrusion
*Recommended Treatment Methods: Reverse osmosis, distillation, deionization

Karly's On-Line Learning Activity: Physical Education in the Schools Lesson

The purpose of Karly's less is to how important physical education is in public school systems. Also, to learn how it has changed through out the years.

Reflecting on my own experiences with physical education in elementary and middle school:

-How many days a week did you have PE class? I THINK in both middle school and high school P.E. and music switched off days, and I believe P.E. was more often. So I'll go with 3 days a week.


-How long were the classes? An hour.

Were you required to participate? Yes, you would lose participation points if you didn't.

Did you enjoy this class? Why or why not? I normally did yes. It was always a good break in the day, and we typically did activites that everyone enjoyed. I never dreaded going. Except maybe in elementary school when we had to square dance with a boy :)
 
After reading the document, 'Physical Education in Schools-Both Quality and Quantity are Important'. I was asked to answer the following questions:





-What are the current recommendations for children and physical activity? 60 minutes a day. 30 during school.



-What are the percentages of schools that are currently providing physical education? What percentage of schools DO NOT have a PE program? Only 3.8% of elementary school, 7.9% of middle school, and 2.1% of high schools offer P.E. for the whole school year. 22% of schools don't offer any at all

-What are some of the benefits of PE in the school? Physical activity lowers a person's risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Having P.E. offered during schools will help to teach kids how to incorporate physical activities into their daily routine.
 
Putting it all together...
 
Do you feel as though PE in the schools should be a required course? why or why not? Yes! Like it said in the article, it's a great way to help teach kids to establish a healthy lifestlye.


◦If yes, up until which age/grade? I think it should be offered through high school. However, in high school I think they should only have to take for one half of the year. and for middle and elementary school kids should be taking it all year.



•Do you think that it should be the parents job to make sure their children are physically active and not the schools? I think it should be both. Parents should make sure their kids are doing active things, but it should also be the school's job to provide the children with physcial education.

•Do you believe that having PE in the schools incorporates other beneficial qualities besides fitness? if yes, what?  Yes. It can teach teamwork, it can be a stress relief because it breaks up the kids day a little bit, it can help improve grades because being active can give an energy boost which will help them to focus better when they are in their classroom.



Hailey's On-line Learning Activity: Water Quality and Sanition Activity
The purpose of Hailey's eye-opener was to have us look at a couple different web pages, which were Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act 2009 Report to Congress, Environmental Health Perspective(which I couldn't get to open), and Institute of Medicine website. We also need to complete a crossword puzzle about water sanition.


Cross Word Puzzle Questions:

Across:


1. People are losing their self _Dignity__ because of their lack of sanitary resources.
6. The other main issue that is affecting individuals in developing countries. Sanitary Resources
7. One of the biggest barriers in reducing the amount of people affected by poor water quality and sanitation. Money
9. The percentage of people who lack access to clean drinking water in the world. Forty Percent

Down:

2. How many countries worldwide are in need of assistance when it comes to water quality and sanitation. 95 Countries
3. One of the main issues affecting individuals living in developing countries? Water Access
4. An economic impact of poor water quality and sanitation would be reduced worker _Productivity____
5. People are being infected by _Diseases____ on a regular basis due to unclean water.
8. The acronym for one of the leading agencies who is helping out with water quality and sanitation problems? EPA

I was asked to answer: What do you think it would be like to live without access to clean water and sanitary resources? It would be really difficult! I couldn't imagine being thirsty, and not having access to water that wouldn't be potentially harmful to me. Day-to-day living would be completely different, is so many aspects!

Advocacy Project: School Lunch Subsidies and Nutrition

Eye-Opener: School Lunch

Purpose: To gain a better undestanding of  political aspects of school lunch.

Background: The 2009 MN legestlator was debating bills that would increase the reimbursements to schools' lunches for low income students.

ANSWER: 
1. What was your school lunch like growing up?
2. Would you consider it as healthy?
3. Do you remember how it was paid for/ by whom?

Read
The following Legistlative Issue Paper written by the Minnesota School Nutrition Association. It summarizes the 2009 issues related to school lunches in Minnesota. This group clearly shows the gap between producing a school lunch and the revenue recieved, a problem that is causing many low-in-come students to not have access to as healthy school lunches.

Nutrition guidlines are mandated by both federal and state government, school lunches are a hot political topic. In an attempt to take some of the politics out of the issue, a group called The Healthy Schools Campaign, which is a independent non-profit organization, is here to help students, parents, and school leaders work to create change at the distric, state, and national level.
The following article in the Chicago Healthy Schools Campaign news letter explains ways to get children to eat healthier lunches, and stresses the importance of increasing funding for school lunch programs. Please read the news letter.

Watch
The following video explains the politics behind school lunch.
The Food Lobby Goes to School

Answer these questions as you watch the video: 
4. What are some obsticles that got in the way of providing American school children with healthy lunches. 

5. What health problems affect American children? Did this surprise you?

6. Consider what you have read and the video you have watched: What do you think is the #1 thing that you think can be done to improve school lunch?

Share 'N' Voice: Banned Bottled Water

I have a subscription to Vegetarian Times Magazine, and I came across a really cool article. This past July, a town in Australia called Bundanoon became the first town in Australia, and most likely the World, to ban the sale of any bottled water in their town.

The ban is called 'Bundy on Tap' or 'BOT' and it came about because a Syndey- based beverage company called Norlex was planning on building a water extraction plant in their town. This wasn't allowed, so Norlex planned on continuing to build the plant, and then ship the water out of town to be bottled. The person behind BOT realized that if the town was against having that company in their town, why would it make sense to sell the finished product in their town. So the town voted, and almost everyone voted YES on discontinuing the sale of water bottles. The town then started selling re-usable water bottles, and installed 4 filtered-water drinking fountains with spouts that made refilling water bottles easy.

AWESOME!

Read 'N' Seed: Final Review of "Under a Green Sky"

Overview of "Under a Green Sky" by Peter Ward
The beginning of this book wasn’t my favorite. It had very specific information, that I wasn’t that interested in. It also involved many view points from the author and other paleontologists about the various topics I’ve talked about. Some of the viewpoints and theories would get very lengthy and boring to read. However, when Peter Ward was discussing the K-T extinction, which was when the Earth was most likely hit by a giant meteor and the debris that was blown into the atmosphere. Causing total blackness, and ultimately killing off most of the species. I think that this was one of the most significant things I learned in this book. This is because it’s always possible for another meteor to strike the Earth.


The second part of the book was more attention-grabbing. It was really interesting to read about how the Earth almost frozen at one point, and it was the rise in greenhouse gases that was responsible for completely changing the temperature all over the World, causing it to thaw. This was the second most significant thing I read about. Our greenhouse gases are rising now, causing the temperature to rise to happen everywhere. This is important because history is already starting to repeat itself, and many people don’t realize what can happen if the green house gases continue to rise. Reading this book can help open people’s eyes to the past, and what can happen.

This leads to the third most significant part of the book. When Ward discussed that the next extinction could be caused by a green house extinction. When he said that it would only take a 25 foot rise in the Earths oceans to wipe out half of the World’s population I was blown away! And that by the year 3000 it is supposed to rise by 200 feet. This is extrememly important information, and something that I think I should have known before reading this book.


Recommendation
I would recommend this book.. or to even just skim the first couple of chapters, get a general idea, and read the whole second half. I found that much more interesting. But overall I learned A LOT from this book, and have found myself telling people random facts from it.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10: Overall Project Reflection

My SMART goal

"I will use a re-usable  bad everytime I go to the grocery store and Target."

My original SMART goal was that "I will use a re-usable bag everytime

I go to the grocery store." Later in the semester I added

that "I will use a re-usable bad everytime I go

to Target" as well.

SUCCESSES

During the 10 weeks I think I over all didn't a pretty good job! I typically remembered to bring my re-usable bags with me, or would run back out to my car to grab them if I forgot them there. I was  much more aware when I did forgot my bags than I think I would have been with out having this goal to do in class. Being more aware of what I was doing really helped me to remember. Also, writing about it each week was a good reminder, and a great way to reflect.

CHALLENGES

A few challenges presented themselves during this project. My biggest one being that when I shop with other people and ride in their car I ALWAYS seemed to forget my re-usable bags. I also would sometime only have when bag in my car, when I needed two, because I forgot the other one at my house. I did buy a new one this week though! :)

BENEFITS

I benefited from this assignment because it got me off to a good start on remembering to use my re-usable bags in the future.  I felt guilty when I would occasionally forget to bring a re-usable bag with me. And it wasn't that I felt bad that I wasn't using a re-usable bag because it was a class assignment, it's because I truely felt bad about needing to use a plastic or paper bag because they are so bad for the environment. I used WAY less plastic bags than I would have with out this goal.

According to the website reducing4more the average American uses somewhere between 300 and 700 bags each year! I've already cut way back on how many I use, and plan to keep it up! This is an obvious benefit to the environment, but to others too. This is because there will be less, even though it may not have been that many, plastic bags going into landfills, or possibly blowing around polluting the ground and water systems.

WHAT I LEARNED

I learned that behavior change isn't an easy thing, even if the goal seems relatively easy. There are always going to be challenges and always remembering to stick with your change may not always happen. But I learned how great it feels keep up with a goal, until it becomes a complete behavior change. I don't think it will be a problem for me to continue using my re-usable bags.

I fully plan on continuing with my behavior change! If someone else was looking to make a behavior change, I would recommend that you do it with someone else, or an entire class :) That way the topic will come up more often, helping you to remember that you set a goal for yourself.

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

Maggie Flolid


18 Artavia

Duluth, MN 55811

Dec. 5, 2009



Rep. Joe Hoppe

317 State Office Building

100 Rev. Martin Luther King Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155





Dear Representative Hoppe,

It is crucial to the well being of Minnesota children that you support HF 0784 to increase state reimbursement for school lunch. State funding has not kept pace with dramatic increases in food costs, a situation that is detrimental to the health and education of our state’s children. School nutrition is especially vital for low-income children who may not have access to fresh, healthy food at home.

The Minnesota School Nutrition Association supports an increase in school lunch aid, citing increased food costs and research that shows healthy food is crucial to student growth and achievement. The association says that there is currently a 37 cent gap between the cost of producing school lunch and revenues received.
As a Health Education major at the University of Minnesota Duluth, I have studied the link between adequate nutrition and the ability to learn. Researchers have clearly documented that getting adequate nutrition is essential to full intellectual development. Moreover, under nutrition impacts children’s behavior, school achievement and cognitive development.

A study by the USDA concluded that school lunch programs have had to offer fewer whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables as costs for these wholesome foods increases. Clearly, the long-term effects of not adequately funding school lunch are immense.

Please give your support to this important bill. Minnesota’s school districts – and more importantly, children – would greatly benefit from its passage. I appreciate your consideration for healthier, more equitable schools.


Sincerely,


Maggie Flolid

UMD student

Reflection: Weeks 11 and 12

Week 11

I wasn't in class for this week. However, I watched the video off the calendar called The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. This was an incredibly informative video! I can't believe that 1/3 of the planets natural resources have been consumed, and 40% of the water ways in the U.S. have become undrinkable. If every country in the the World used resources like we do, it would tale 3 to 5 planets to support us, that's disgusting. Actually almost everything from this video completely disgusting, such as that man that decided after WWII to try and change the economy to basically just be revolved around buying, buying, and more buying. And then throwing away almost everything we do buy with in 6 months of purchasing it.

I also posted for my eco-chic lifestyle change which went really well for me that week! Posted about my Advocacy project, which is about increasing the amount of money reimbursed to schools from the state for lunch programs. And I also finished up the book I was reading; Under a Green Sky. 


Week 12
This week we started off talking about our photo essays, and learned about MckLinky blog hops. I really liked seeing everyone's topics that they chose to take pictures of! We also talked about writing a letter to a politcal representative or editor.