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.

Share and Voice: Big Green Cookbook

Hello everyone! First off, yes I'm blogging about a cookbook. (Don't care if it isn't manly or what not, I like food, it's delicious.) So whenever I get bored, the mall seems to be the place that I always end up at. And my first stop is always Barnes and Noble (which is weird because one of my enemies on my Enemy List is 'reading'). While I was at B & N, I noticed a book that caught my eye, the Big Green Cookbook, by Jackie Newgent.

Like it's name implies, it's a cookbook that involves going green. So I checked it out, and it had some really good recipes in it. The thing I always hate about most recipe books is when the recipe has 45 ingredients. Like 8 different spices, and 3 different oils. Most of the recipes in this book had very few ingredients thankfully. Here's a little bit of a book description.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Going green" has spread to the kitchen! Big Green Cookbook is the first comprehensive, climate-conscious cookbook, ideal for both culinary novices and experienced cooks. Food and health expert Jackie Newgent reveals simple, practical, and sometimes even money-saving solutions for choosing and preparing food in planet-pleasing ways. It has never been easier to create everyday meals that maximize flavor while minimizing your environmental impact. Inside you'll find:

• A green kitchen checklist

• Over 200 delicious, easy-to-prepare, seasonal recipes that feature fresh, all-natural foods

• Guidelines for going organic and tips for buying locally

• Nutrition information and earth-friendly cooking tips with every recipe

• Clever, new techniques for low-carbon cooking

• An eco-friendly shopping guide and seasonal produce guide

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So if anyone out there is lookin' into getting a new cookbook or anything, I suggest trying this one out!

Advocacy Project: Issue Overiview

Introduction
The goal of my program is to ensure better screening for Mental Health and Mental Disorders in Juvenile Facilities. But the bill I am focusing on is set out to improve 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.

Who’s Affected?
I would say the people affected most are the juveniles and the employees at the juvenile facilities. Both of these sets of people will benefit. The juveniles will be treated better, while the employees will learn a new skill in their increased training. But another set of people who are affected, who may be opposed, are taxpayers. Most of the money put into grants comes from taxpayer’s money. So people may say ‘I don’t know any juveniles in treatment centers, so why should I give them my tax money?’

Consequences?
Well the consequences for the taxpayers would be simply the fact that they lose money. But the families who have juveniles in the treatment center would have only positive consequences. Their son/daughter would be treated better, making everyone happier. Society should theoretically improve because of this too. If the juveniles are treated better, and are able to function normally sooner, they will be able to go back into society with a seamless transition.

Economic Impact?
The economic costs of the issue are simply the taxpayers are paying more for this. While the cost per taxpayer would be minimal, people would still be opposed. People who benefit economically I guess would be the juveniles themselves. If after treatment, they are able to go back into the business world, they should be able to get jobs.

Social Impact?
Kind of along the same lines, the people who benefit socially would be the juveniles and the families themselves. Once they get out of treatment, life should theoretically be better for them.

Barriers?
Taxpayers. Whenever anyone here’s they may have to pay a tax on something new, they are automatically opposed until they find out what it is going towards. People will especially be opposed because of the state of the economy right now. People don’t want to just throw around money anymore unless they directly see the effect of it. But they can be overcome by getting the word out about the bill. Put ads in newspapers, commercials on TV, anything to get people to take notice.

Resources?
Resources that will be needed to address the issue are basically just money. But resources that WILL be affected if the bill goes through would be first and foremost, the employees. The money would go directly to training the employees. But another resource affected would maybe be the devices and tools used to measure Mental Health. By this I mean money may go to a new computer, which has programs on it designed specifically for this purpose.

History of the issue?
This is a section where I searched and searched and found literally nothing on bills like this. So unfortunately, I cannot comment on this section just yet. But I will keep looking into it, and when I do find something, I will put it in this post.

Allies and Opponents?
People who would support this issue would be the various Juvenile Mental Health Facilities. Also, such organizations such as the Minnesota State Advisory Council on Mental Health, as well as Minnesota Mental Health Clinics. Opponents would simply be taxpayers. I don’t see any other people who would oppose, (Any ideas???) mainly because it seems like a good cause. If juveniles are treated and cured or mental disorders, it really benefits everyone.

My Recommendation?
Please vote YES on HR 1931 – The Juvenile Crime Reduction Act!

Reflection: Weeks 11 & 12

Hey again everybody.

So as the weeks fly by, the end of the semester is in sight. But thankfully, the classes are still interesting (Except for Human Physiology). Week 11 started with a movie titled Unnatural Causes. Due to me being sick, I only got to see the first half, but from what I saw, it was an eye opening movie. It showed how people with more money have better health than people who don't have as much money. But thinking about it, yah, it makes sense. If you have money, you have more resources at the palm of your hand, i.e. the ability to go to the doctor, or go to the drug store and get medicine.

Week 12 began with an eye opener on Healthy People 2010. We did some research and looked into some important topics. Mine had to do with Mental Health and Mental Disorders. Once we found which topic we wanted to research, we looked at the Goals of the program, objectives, what kind of progress they are making, and what challenges may lie ahead. Then we had to look into what type of Bills are attempting to get passed in our subject. I unfortunately didn't find any that we closely related to my subject in Mental Health. And then good ol' Shar ran the class on Thursday, and she did a wonderful job!

Advocacy Project: HealthyPeople and THOMAS

Hello everyone. It feels like a really long time since my last post. Been kind of busy with Methods stuff I guess. Anywho. The goal I chose to look into was Focus Area 18: Mental Health and Mental Disorders. I've always taken an interest in Mental Disorders, so I figured this would be a good topic to look at.

GOAL
The goal of this topic is to improve mental health and ensure access to appropriate, quality mental health services.

OBJECTIVE 18-8
Juvenile justice residential facilities that provide mental health screening

BASELINE: 50% in the year 2000

TARGET: 55%

PQC - The Progress Quotient Chart has shown that now 60% of Juvenile Facilities provide mental health screening.

PROGRESS: The Baseline was at 50% in the year 2000. It then moved to 53% in the year 2002. And it is now at 60%, still trending up.

DISPARITIES: According to the disparities charts, the data for this particular section are unavailable. Mainly because the topic is about Juvenile facilities, not race or gender or anything.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES:
Cost is a big one here. They can't screen if they don't have any money. Lack of availability of services is another problem. Odds are, they would have to hire more people to be able to do the screening.

EMERGING ISSUES:
The main issue coming up is co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders and the outcomes resulting from this combination. About 50% of adults who have a mental disorder, will also at some point have a substance abuse problem.

H.R.1931 - Juvenile Crime Reduction Act
•TITLE - 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.
•SPONSOR - Rep Kennedy, Patrick J.
•LATEST MAJOR ACTION: 4/2/2009 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.


Alright so there was a little bit of information I couldn't find because every time I clicked, it would say 'Temporary File Open Error'

Reflection: Weeks 9 & 10

•Hey again everybody. So it seems like we haven't actually had to be in class for a long long time! I know it's only been a week, but the time is flying by. Week 9 started off with us checking out some things about advocacy. This is a pretty important issue for us health educators, considering advocacy is pretty much what we do.

•The week then moved on to us doing a blog post on our political representatives. Not the coolest thing ever, but it's still important for obvious reasons. I know we are going to have to use this information later on in the class, and I'm kind of intrigued as to how though.

•Then week 10 comes along. I feel that this week was the busiest I've been so far this semester. Due largely in part to the Photo Essay. I chose to do mine on different was to go green, but did so with my cartoon(check the blog post below for that). It took me around 15-20 hours to complete. Of course I usually had the TV on when working on it, and it was usually Minnesota Wild games on. So I'm sure that slowed me down a bit. And honestly, I'm attempting to try all of the different ways I suggest, with the exception of a garden.

•So that is the past couple of weeks in review, and I will see everyone in class!

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

Hey everyone. Alrighty then. About 15 hours of work later, I finally finished my Photo Essay. As many of you know, I kind of have aspirations to get this cartoon I am working on on TV someday. So I got to thinking, and I thought of ways to combine the cartoon along with the photo essay.

Well, I decided to have the 3 main characters of my cartoon showing different ways to go green. Now let me start off by saying I, by no means, draw very well. If I somehow get my cartoon on TV, the first thing I'm doing is hiring people to draw for me. So if the drawing and such is ugly, I apologize. Another thing of note is you will notice quickly that the words are a little hard to read. (The scanner kind of isn't the best thing ever) So below each page, is the dialogue.

The title of the cartoon is 'El Zoo De Mexico,' and it's about three janitors who work at a Zoo in Mexico. They are called the Zooperheroes because they stop a mad scientist from doing something bad in each episode, making them superheroes so to speak.

The characters all have back stories, but that's for a different time (Two of the characters are people we see every day walking around campus). Also, if the quality of the pages on the blog still isn't that great, I'll be carrying around the comic with me, so if you wanna see it, just ask.

Hope you enjoy it people!



Box 1 - Howdy everyone! My name is Tom!
- I'm Ramon.
- And I'm Calvin!
Box 2 - And we're here to tell you 21 ways you can go green! They're all easy, and every little bit counts!
Box 3 - Let's get started shall we?
Box 4 - Ride a bike whenever possible! This way, you won't be emitting and emissions like when driving.
Box 5 - And if you need to drive, carpool!
- One car on the road is better than three!
Box 6 - Waiting in the car for more than 30 seconds? Turn it off instead of idling.
Box 7 - Buy a reuseable water bottle. One time bottles use plastic and energy to make. Not exactly good for mother nature!
Box 8 - Plant a tree! Every tree you plant will provide enough oxygen for two people for the rest of their lives!



Box 1 - Tree's take in stuff we dont like, Carbon Dioxide, and give out Oxygen, which we do!
Box 2 - Grow your own food! It will cost less, and could be a nice little hobby!
Box 3 - Also, support your local farmers! Typical grocery store produce travels nearly 1500 miles before it ends up on your plate. All this traveling burns fuel and results in carbon emissions.
Box 4 - And when you do go, use "Eco-Friendly bags." Reusable, cheap, and you won't waste paper or plastic everytime.
Box 5 - Say "No thanks" to ATM receipts. If everyone in the U.S. did this, it would save a roll od paper so long that it could circle the equator 15 times.
Box 6 - Download music instead of buying CD's. Each month, more than 45 tons of CD's become obsolete and end up in landfills.
Box 7 - When you go on a walk, bring a bag to pick up trash along the way. What good is it doing lying next to the sidewalk?
Box 8 - Buy rechargeable batteries. You save money, and throw away less batteries, which can contain hazardous materials.



Box 1 - Shower smarter! When lathering or shampooing, turn the water off until you need to rinse off.
Box 2 - Fix that leak! A leaky faucet can waste up to 74 gallons of water a day.
Box 3 - Turn the water off when brushing! It could conserve as much as 5 gallons of water a day!
Box 4 - Do full loads of laundry and dishes. Wash two fewer loads of clothes and one fewer load of dishes a week, and save up to 4,500 gallons of water a year!
Box 5 - Ditch paper napkins, and switch to cloth! Cloth napkins will save you both types of green: money and paper.
Box 6 - Unplug things when you aren't using them. Better yet, get a power strip. As much as 75% of electricity used by home electronics is used while they are turned off.
Box 7 - Change lightbulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent. CF bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 10 times longer.
Box 8 - And occasionally, use candles to light parts of your house instead of electric lights. Do you really need them all on?
Box 9 - And finally, let kids know the benefits of going green! Remember, kids are like sponges. Things you teach them early on in life are more likely to stay with them throughout their life!

Share and Voice: Blog Award Pass Along!

Hey everyone! So I recently was awarded two Blog awards for my post on Captain Planet! I received an EnviroCool award from Jeff @ Cuddling Conifers with Jeff, and a Blog On award for expressing my inner health educator from Ben @ Ben's Virtual Ecosystem. First off, thanks to both of you.

But now I must pass the awards off to others. I'd like to give the Blog On Award for expressing your inner health educator to Kaileigh @ Kaileighs Nature Log for her post Northland Country Club. She took initiative and helped out at her work to make them go green! That is truely Legendary!

And as for the EnviroCool award, that goes to Sara J. @ A Leaf of Sara's Life, for her post Denver International Airport: Going green? I think this was a great idea for a post, and it would be awesome if every airport did things like this!

So, Kaileigh and Sara...
Here are directions for you to accept the award!

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
2. Create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).
3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).
4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.
5. Publish the post.
6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.
7. Continue the process...

Share and Voice: Green Pets (Not Literally)

Helloski once again everybody! So my original idea for this post was to do it on the most Eco-Friendly pet that people could have. Yeah, that idea didn't get very far. Didn't find one word on the subject.

So I moved my focus else where, and decided to look at ways you and your pet can be more Eco-Friendly. I love dogs, honestly I'll probably have 5 when I get out of college, so this is a good subject for me to look into. So, I found a great website on the subject, EcoPetLife.com. Let's look at it pet by pet. (Dogs, Cat, and Birds. They don't have any others unfortunately)

DOGS

Adjustable Hemp Collars

•Retail Price - $19.00
•100% Hemp, hypoallergenic, come in 2 different types; Kody, and Jewel.
•Hemp leashes also available

Huck

•Retail Price - $7.98
•Made of a material called Zogoflex, its durable, and made to be recycled. Whenever it gets to the point where you can no longer use it, mail it back to the company and they will turn it into new toys. Comes in three awesome colors; Aqua Blue, Tangerine, and Granny Smith

Organic Dog Cookies

•Retail Price - $5.99
•95% organic ingredients
•Two flavors - Chicken, and Peanut Butter

Eco Plush Frog

•Retail Price - $13.00
•Made out of Recycled Soda Pop Bottles. (How awesome is that??)
•Also comes in Salamander and Turtle.

CATS
Catnip

•Retail Price - $5.50
•100% natural organic catnip

Cat Kit

•Retail Price - $16.00
•Contains one Shelby the Mouse, one Shelby the Refillable Mouse, one Catnip Spray Bottle, one Cork Ball and a half ounce of potent Organic Catnip Leaf and Flower

BIRDS

Avian Herbal Tea Blend

•Retail Price - $11.85
•Apparently Birds drink tea. Either way, its all natural, and helps birds immune systems.

Bird Food

•Retail Price - $15.95 for a 2 lb bag
•All Natural whole foods. Available for Parakeets, Cockatiels, Canaries, Finches, and Parrots.

Mkay. So there are some various Eco-Friendly pet products you can buy. Hope this helps anyone who wants to look into the subject!

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

Hows it hanging everybody? Here are my findings for all of the politicians. (Click names for link's to websites)


El Presidente - Barack Obama - DFL
Couple of ways to contact him...
•You can email him at www.whitehouse.gov
•Or send a letter to...
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500



Governor(Or as Schwarzenegger would say, Gubernator) - Tim Pawlenty - RNC
•Phone - (651) 296-3391
•Address - Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St Paul, MN 55155


State Senator - Yvonne Prettner - DFL
•(651) 296 -4188
•75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
St Paul, MN 55155


US Senator - Amy Klobuchar - DFL
•(202) 224-3244
•302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510


US House Representative - Jim Oberstar - DFL
•(202) 225-6211
•2365 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20510


St Louis County Commissioner - Dennis Fink - DFL
•(218) 726-2458
•Room 208
100 N the Ave. W
Duluth, MN 55802
Mayor of Duluth - Donnie Ness - DFL
•(218) 730-5230
•Mayor's Office, Room 402
411 W 2st St
Duluth, MN 55802

Reflection: Weeks: 7 & 8

Hey everyone. Alright so this has been a struggle. My mind went blank, and I completely forgot to do this by last Friday. So I apologize for the tardiness.

Well, the movies 'Green' and 'Thirst' were definitely two eye opening movies(The parts we got to see). Green was more of the emotional one however. It showed how bad things can be for some people in America. It was hard to watch and think about how much life would suck--pardon my french-- if I had to live in those conditions. One part that really caught my eye was when the man was saying he used to garden every year, but the ground is so polluted that it wouldn't be safe to plant and eat food from his garden anymore.

Thirst, from the little that we got to see unfortunately, talked about water privatization. While it isn't the most fascinating subject ever, it is still an important one. If water gets privately owned, it'll cost us even more. And being a college student, paying more for water isn't something I'd be happy to do.

The Eye Opener we did through the Environmental Working Group's website was kind of a fun thing to do however. We took whatever cosmetics, or if you are a guy, cosmanics, we use and we found out how hazardous that item is to the environment and to us as well. The item I decided to check out was only a 2 out of 10 in the hazard scale, so it's good, but it still could be better of course.

So that is the past couple of weeks in review! Hope everybody's spring break has gone well thus far, and continues to do so!

Share And Voice: CAPTAIN PLANET!!!

~~"By your powers combined, I am...Captain Planet!!!"~~

•Can I get an Amen to that!?!? I don't know how it took me so long to do a Share and Voice on Captain Planet! 'Captain Planet and the Planeteers' was one of my favorite TV Cartoons growing up as a kid!

ABOUT THE SHOW

•For those of you who did not watch this legendary cartoon, Captain Planet was a superhero who was out to save the world from pollution. He would basically have a 'sixth sense' that would let him know when something bad was happening to the earth, like a forest being cut down, or someone dumping toxic waste.

•When he got this sense, he would summon his 5 helpers -- known as the Planeteers -- to help him fight for the cause.

• Kwame - Hailed from Africa, and had the power of Earth
• Wheeler - Coming from North America, had the power of Fire
• Linka - From Russia, had the power of Wind
• Gi - From Asia, held the power of Water
• Ma-Ti - Hailing from South America, had the power of Love

•The Spirit of Earth was Gaia. The voice of wisdom for Captain Planet and the Planeteers, she too felt the sixth sense when the earth was in trouble.

•Ted Turner actually created the show. Attempting to create a show that was fun and awesome, as well as educational. I'd say mission accomplished Mr. Turner.

TIDBITS

•While taking a stroll down memory lane and looking at some Captain Planet websites, I came across some interesting information, to me atleast. A lot of celebrities were voices on the show. I saved the best for last

• Whoopi Goldberg - Voice of Gaia
• Ed Asner - Voice of Hoggish Greedly
• Martin Sheen - Voice of Sly Sludge
• John Ratzenberger - Voice of Rigger
• Meg Ryan - Voice of Dr. Blight
• Tim Curry - Voice of MAL
• Jeff Goldblum - Voice of Verminous Skumm
• Sting - Voice of Zarm
• Lavar Burton - Voice of Kwame

•Lavar Burton was the host of Reading Rainbow! Yet another classic! Also, John Ratzenberger was Cliff Clavin on Cheers. And Tim Curry was the clown in IT, and the Butler in Clue, and he was also in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

•Ok so there were a few more random celebrities scattered in the show, but pretty much no one except me knows who they are, so I left them out. But if you want to know, check out IMDB's site on the show. IMDB (The Internet Movie DataBase is pretty much the greatest website ever.)

LINKS

Captain Planet - Here's is the unofficial offical site of Captain Planet.
Captain Planet's Favorite Links - Links that have to do with the environment and such
Planeteer Alert's - Basically :30 second Public Service Announcements
Eco Tips - "Captain Planet's Top Ten Eco Tips. Heck yes.

SONG

Anybody remember the song that they always sang? If not, here are the lyrics for it. Enjoy.

"EARTH!"
"FIRE!"
"WIND!"
"WATER!"
"HEART!"

"Go Planet!"

"By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!"

Captain Planet, he's our hero
Gonna take pollution down to zero

He's our powers magnified
And he's fighting on the planet's side

Captain Planet, he's our hero
Gonna take pollution down to zero

Gonna help him put asunder
Bad guys who like to loot and plunder

"You'll pay for this Captain Planet!"

We're the Planeteers
You can be one too
'Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!

Looting and polluting is not the way
Hear what Captain Planet has to say!

"The Power is Yours!"

FIGHTING FOR THE CAUSE
•So I leave you all with this. As you see above, Captain Planet's big catchphrase was 'The Power Is Yours!' If ya think about it, that really is a great catchphrase for the class. If we want things in this world to change, it is up to us. People may think that if one person does something, it won't matter. But every little bit counts, people. Every little bit counts...

~~~~~
•I don't think anyone has done a Share and Voice on this yet, if so I apologize for repeating. But I couldn't help but take a stroll down memory lane!