Reflection: Weeks 15 & 16

Hey again everybody. So the class is over, and it has definitely been an eye opening class. So after I reflect on these past couple of weeks, I'm going to reflect on the whole class.

Weeks 15 started out with Sue Whitney, Professional Junker, coming into our class and talking to us about all things junk. This was a nice little treat for a couple of reasons. Reason the first, she was an interesting lady. Just hearing her story, and hearing what she thinks about junking was cool. Reason the second, she gave us one of her awesome books. It worked out perfect because my mom is an avid junker, and later that day I was sending my Mother's Day gift. So when we received the book from Ms. Whitney, I put the book right in the package along with my original gift. I talked with my mom on the phone a couple of days later and she loved it.

Next class period, we reflected on the class as a whole. It was a nice relaxing day outside.

But our main online activity was to do a blog post on an online learning activity to educate our Blogging Groups on our main issue in our advocacy project. I created Name That Phobia. We then had to go into our each person blog and complete their learning activity. I enjoyed each and everyone one that I completed.

But now to look back and reflect on this past semester.

• Our first activity - Where we had to stand inside the rope circles, and Dr V kept taking them away. Good times
• All of our readings due. Not always exciting to read, but they were still essential to the course.
  
• Watching 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Our first huge eye opener.
  
• Cosmanics
• Water Privatization - No one started out wanting to talk about it a whole lot, but then we all realized how big of a deal it really was.
• All of the different Photo Essays. All equally awesome
• Story of Stuff, which talked about what all it takes to make a product and sell it.
• Our nature hike
• Junking. From hammerhead shaped cookie cutters, to ship in a bottle, to an M shaped yard decoration for Ms. Marquette.

So overall, this was an awesome class, and I am glad I had the opportunity to take it. Have a good summer everybody! Steve out!

Eye Opener: Learning Activity Results

Hey everybody. So in last weeks reflection, I put in a video clip from Toy Story, just as a different way to say hello. So I got thinking about another way, and I thought of a song, 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles. I've never loved the Beatles, they're awesome, just not my favorite band ever. But 'Hey Jude' is an amazingly awesome song. So below is a video of the song that you can listen to when ya read the blog if you'd liked.



So this Eye Opener asked us to go to out Web Groups blogs and check out and complete their Online Learning Activity posts. So I'll go through one by one and give you my results.

-=SHAR=-
For Shar's activity we had to go to the Health Canada website and there was an Indoor Air Pollution Chase game. We had to click on things and it would let us know if it was an allergen. We had to find them all. I'll go room by room.

ROOF
Water Damage
(Birds can potentially be)

BATHROOM
Cleaning Products

BEDROOM
Mold
Paints and Varnishes
(Plants can be as well)

KITCHEN
Gas Stoves

LIVING ROOM
Wood Smoke
Cigarettes
(Indoor Water Fountains Too)

BASEMENT
Furnace
Ozone Generator
Mold Again

LAUNDRY ROOM
Dryer

GARAGE
Cars

The item I chose that is mostly likely to affect me is Cleaning Products. And the solution was to read and follow safety information on the label and manufacturers instructions.


-=HEATHER=-
So for Heather's activity we had to go to Health Partners site, and check out their Cost of Care activity. It will show us what it would cost to get treatment anything. I have chronic back pain. And here is what it said it would cost me without health insurance.



I also had Bronchitis a couple years ago. Here's what it would have cost.



-=KATHY=-
Kathy's activity was to do a crossword puzzle about lead based paint and it's potential harm. This was another fun activity and I actually learned a lot from it. Here are my answers.

DOWN
1) Fetal
3) Older
4) 1978
5) Myth

ACROSS
2) Gasoline
4) 1940
6) Paint
7) Sperm
8) 80%
9) Dust

And as I did this, I was in a room with a couple of people so I started to talk to them about our house, and I gave them some neat facts that I found from doing this activity!


-=Kaileigh=-
For Kaileigh's activity we had to go to the FCIC's page and learn about Long Term Health Care. Once we did that, we had to comment on what we learned.

I didn't even realize what long term health care was until I read this. But I know now that it is the health care you get when you are either older and need to be in a nursing home, or even an assisted living home. It is also for people who are in a serious accident and need constant care.

I also learned that about 19 percent of Americans aged 65 and older experience some degree of chronic physical impairment. I dont know how many people that actually is, but I know it is a lot of people. And they all need Health Care.

Also, one year in a nursing home can cost about $50,000. Holy schnikes that's a lot. I'm pretty sure I haven't made that much money in all of my years of working.

So what's my opinion. I don't really know. Because I can see the side's to both arguments. In the end I'm sure my vote would go for affordable LTC for everybody.


-=Christen=-
For Christen's activity we had to watch 'The Health Insurance Game', and discuss whether we felt the video showed bias or whether it was an appropriate demonstration.

I thought it was a good thing to watch. They showed heavy bias, but in this situation I don't see why they wouldn't. But overall I thought it was a good way to get their point across. Because it definitely a huge issue, one that's only going to grab our attention more and more as soon as we get off of our parents health insurance.

Share and Voice: National Geographic Awesomeness

Hey everybody. So odds are, this will be my last Share and Voice post. It was fun while it lasted.

So National Geographic runs an awesome site call The Green Guide. Basically anything you want to know about going green, they have it. But I found one thing in particular that was cool. It's called the Infinite Photograph. Hundreds and hundreds of people submitted outdoor photo's, and the good people at NatGeo made a picture that goes on and on and on. They call it a photo mosaic. It is pretty amazing.

The above picture is what you see first. Click once on any spot in the photo, and it will show you about a hundred smaller photos. click any spot again, and itll bring them closer. Then you can click again and it gives you all the little photos that made up that photo you just clicked on. You can double click on any photo and it will give you some info on it. Check it out at the link above.

Adios!

Advocacy Project: Online Peer Environmental Health Learning Activity

Name That Phobia
Purpose: To educate people on the different types of phobias documented.

But first, some information on the subject.

• A Phobia is an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people. (Wikipedia.com)
  
• Phobias are the most common mental disorder in the U.S. (About.com)
• 18 million U.S. citizens have mental disorders. (MentalHealth.com)
• A quote from Wikipedia - "Phobias are more often that not linked to the amygdala, an area of the brain located behind the pituitary gland in the limbic system. The amygdala secretes hormones that control fear and aggression."

Phobias can be treated and cured thankfully. This is usually accomplished by different types of therapy: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Visual Therapy, and the Emotional Freedom Technique.

But now, on to the game. There are two sections. Section 1, I will list 10 phobia names, and you have to tell me what it is a fear of. Section 2, I will list 10 fears, and you have to tell me what phobia it is. The phobias from section 1 don't carry into section 2. Now you can either guess the answers, or go here to see the list of phobias, and use it to help you out. Let the games begin!

SECTION 1

1. Pteromerhanophobia - The fear of ________
   
2. Tachophobia - The fear of _______
   
3. Wiccaphobia - The fear of _______
   
4. Autophobia - The fear of _______
   
5. Bathmophobia - The fear of _______
   
6. Glossophobia - The fear of ________
   
7. Chronomentrophobia - The fear of ________
   
8. Cacophobia - The fear of ________
   
9. Leukophobia - The fear of ________
10. Mysophobia - The fear of ________

SECTION 2

1. ____________ - The fear of cooking
2. ____________ - The fear of birds
   
3. ____________ - The fear of houses
   
4. ____________ - The fear of needles or pointed objects
   
5. ____________ - The fear of clowns
   
6. ____________ - The fear of cats
   
7. ____________ - The fear of the sun
   
8. ____________ - The fear of gaining weight
   
9. ____________ - The fear of strangers or foreigners
   
10. ____________ - The fear of large things
    

Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14

To quote the shark in Toy Story, Howdy Howdy Howdy! (If anybody knows what I'm talking about, you are officially awesome. If not, here is the clip. Such a good movie)




I'm wondering if there is such a thing as Super-Senioritis...if there is, I may have it. Either way, lets take a look back at the past couple of weeks.

WEEK 13
13 started off with the Story of Stuff, by Annie Leonard. It was about how the things we use on a daily basis go through a chain of events that effect the environment. It mentioned the extraction of the goods needed to make a product, then the actual production of it, then onto the distribution, then when consumers consume/use the product, then the disposal. When I was watching the video, I simplified it to 'Take it...Make it...Sell it...Use it...Throw it...'

Then on Thursday we ended up at Bagley Nature Area. At first I thought we were just going to go on a little hike, but we ended up using compasses and having to navigate around in the woods. Honestly I had a lot of fun trying to get around. I was half expecting me to get lost out there, but it all worked out.

WEEK 14
This week started off with a guest speaker from the Civil Engagements Office. He mainly talked about some career options in Environmental Health. He did get me thinking about whether or not I could like having a career in EH. Honestly, I don't know if I could or not. That's another conversation in itself.

Then Thursday comes along. Dr. V brought it some junk, and we had to figure out ways to make the items useful. It was a heck of a lot of fun. My mom likes to do stuff like this, so I had some minor experience with it prior to the class period.

Another thing we had to do these past couple weeks was blog about our Advocacy Projects. We had to look into our issues, and then write a letter to our public official. A lot of political stuff. I am not good at it. I realize how important all of this stuff is, but its hard for me to pay attention to this type of stuff.

Onward to week 15!

Share and Voice: Sports Leagues Going Green

Hey everybody. So people who know me know that I like sports. My dream job would be the General Manager of a National Hockey League team, meaning I would get to make all the decisions (who to draft, trade, sign, etc.). So I got to thinking again, and I decided to investigate what the four major sports leagues are doing to go green. So below, I have a section devoted to each league, with a little bit of info as to what they've done.

National Football League
At the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, the NFL made a huge effort to go green. About 60,000 lbs of food that was made was not eaten at the stadium alone. So, instead of creating 30 TONS of waste, they decided to give the food to soup kitchens, shelters, churches, and other organizations. No waste, plus good karma! Another thing most people wouldn't even think about is all the costs (in terms of carbon emissions) of having to haul it to the garbage dumps. So they saved there as well.

Then, through all the car and electricity used in and around the stadium, it amounted to 1 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide. To go Carbon Neutral, the league planted 3,000 trees in the Miami area.

Major League Baseball
MLB has joined forces with the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) to help each team make a stronger effort to be more eco-friendly. Here is what they will help each team do.

• Adopting an official environmental policy

• Incorporating environmental language into contracts, purchasing policies and requests for proposals that specify preferences for environmentally sound products and services

• Encouraging the use of renewable energy

• Providing information about how to credibly offset the carbon emissions related to team and fan transportation

• Using post-consumer recycled content paper for all paper products

• Implementing paper reduction strategies in offices

• Offsetting the environmental impact of up to half of team and employee travel

• Establishing club eco-committees

National Basketball Association
One article from the NBA that caught my eye was about the Chicago Bulls. Instead of just having their team go green for the first ever NBA Green Week, they put an emphasis on educating the fans. Throughout their game on April 9th, they had random ways people can go green on the scoreboard. They also had displays throughout the arena further educating fans. The team also gave out 20,000 Energy Saving light bulbs to fans as they left the arena.

National Hockey League
This one's a little more complicated. The NHL teamed with the David Suzuki Foundation to create the NHLPA's Carbon Neutral Challenge. When players have to travel to cities via airplane, that puts carbon emissions into air, which aren't good for the environment. So the NHL is rewarding players who do things to go green, which 'evens' out the carbon level. Think of it this way. Air travel is bad for the environment, going green is good for it, so they equal each other out so to speak. Read more about it here.

Advocacy Project: Letter to a Public Official

(Yes I photo shopped the above photo to make it look like Oberstar is holding a letter)

Steve Anderson
1894 Legendary Lane
Awesomeville, MN 56789
----------------------------------------------------------
April 28, 2009

Congressman James L. Oberstar
Duluth Federal Building
Room 231
Duluth, Minnesota 55802

Dear Congressman Oberstar,

I am writing you today in regards to H.R. Bill 1931, 'The Juvenile Crime Reduction Act', which aims to improve the treatment of juveniles with mental health or substance abuse disorders by establishing new grant programs for increased training, technical assistance, and coordination of service providers, and for other purposes.

I feel that 'The Juvenile Crime Reduction Act' would greatly improve society. If juveniles are treated better while in a facility, meaning rehabilitating the juveniles so they are able to go back into society, everyone would benefit. The juveniles would be able to live a normal life, the families of the juveniles would get their kid's back, and the rest of society would gain more members.

Another set of people who would benefit from this Bill being passed would be the employees at the facility. With the increased training they would receive, they would acquire new skills that will help them with jobs throughout their life.

Your support of Bill HR 1931 would help ensure that the juveniles and employees at the mental health facilities would have a better life. So to support these people, I urge you to vote YES on Bill HR 1931: The Juvenile Crime Reduction Act.

Should you need any other information, feel free to contact me at 1-800-AWE-SOME (293-7663). Thank you very much for your time. Have a good day.


Sincerely,

Steven A.