Reflections: week 9 and 10

The last two weeks have gone by extremely fast; I feel like this semester has just been flying by!
Week 9 started with an introduction to advocacy in environmental health class; we got into random groups and each group presented one topic about understanding advocacy. We also learned how to use THOMAS to find a bill that would relate to our advocacy project choice.  This brought us into our first and main assignment of the advocacy project which was to chose a Healthy People 2010 goal and a bill that related to it. I chose the topic of reducing foodborne illness and poor sanitation due to my specific interest in environmental health. 
This week was extremely packed for me, so my lifestyle change goal didn't go as well, and I felt like I was just getting behind, but all in all everything worked out after the week was over. 


Week 10 introduced a video in class on Monday called "unnatural causes" which documented the lives of many people who are barely making ends meet. It discussed the idea that health correlates with wealth; those who do not have as high of an income of much less of a chance living a healthy lifestyle when it comes to many variables such as healthy eating, less stress, less everyday problems, etc. It was an interesting video, but it really did make sense. Next, we got into groups again and discussed how to "understand an issue" relating to advocacy. 
All in all, this week was much better than the last, I was able to catch up on everything, and my goal was on track as well. 


See you all Monday!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 7: Weekly Update

Week 7 of my lifestyle change wasn't quite as obnoxious as the last. My goal is to not eat red meat, and eat less than 2 servings of other meats/ week. The week slowed down a bit, and I was actually able to spend a little more time cooking and preparing my meals.
This week I DID actually achieve my smart goal, AND I was also able to cut way back on dairy and avoid it as much as possible. 

Successes: I had more time to prepare healthier food for myself, and only had meat once this week! (had to make up for last week). I made a really good fresh vegetable stew and had a lot of leftovers! (pictured below, the potato of love that went into my stew!! I couldn't believe I found a heart potato, I had to take a picture.)

Challenges: My friends and I like going on Perkins runs every once in awhile, and we allll have a big crush on the chicken tender melt, which was my weakness this week. It also had pepperjack cheese...but it was really good! and that was my one meat I allowed myself this week. ...so bad, but ooh so good!


The feelings I have experienced this week, are slightly less stressful than last week. I didn't feel terrible about my choices this week, but I am hoping with Thanksgiving just around the corner, that I'll be able to keep myself from over-indulging. But I AM glad that turkey isn't a red meat! :)


I learned that giving yourself a break is much easier if you plan ahead! It sounds weird, but when I planned ahead and made my soup, I didn't have to worry about what I was eating, and I had leftovers which are always nice! I may have talked about planning ahead before, but really, with anything, just simply writing out to-do lists gives you an idea ahead of time of what you will be dealing with during the week and then its much easier to plan around that. 


I plan on keeping the same goal for next week, as well as the cutting down on dairy part. I have completely stopped buying milk and cheese which is something I never thought I'd be able to do.

Share and Voice: Blog award-expressing inner health educator!

Last week I received an award from Pam for my Coca-Cola Share and Voice post. My post was about making sure people know what Coca-Cola and big companies really do in other countries, and what they really get away with.


  Today, I came across Amanda's Share and Voice blog about UMD wasting paper, specifically, the HUGE stack of courses for spring semester, which as she mentioned can easily be found online. I definitely felt slightly agitated as well when I passed by this large stack near the student center, it's probably still there! I'm sure a good chunk of those will have to be thrown away or hopefully recycled. She definitely expressed her inner health educator when she reacted to seeing this "problem." Go check out Amanda's blog and see the huge stack for yourself!

 Award Instructions for the Award Winner(s)

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
   
2. Within 1 week, 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...

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

My focus for my advocacy project will be on reducing foodborne illness; I am especially interested in this topic because I plan on going into health inspecting/ environmental safety sanitarian eventually after I graduate. 


1.The objective that I believe fits my interests the best is objective 8-29 which is to "Reduce the global burden of disease due to poor water quality, sanitation, and personal and domestic hygiene."


2. Expanding on the objective, according to the progress quotient chart, this target has been met by 161% since 1990. Some emerging issues discussed in this focus area are the fact that clean water issues as well as lack of water in many countries further creates sanitary issues as well, for example, the deterioration of sewer and water systems.  This focus area shows an overall goal of 
"improving the environmental health of people and their communities has positive social and economic benefits."


3. Environmental Health Bill  S.1269  


  Title: A bill to provide for enhanced foodborne illness surveillance and food safety capacity, to establish regional food safety centers of excellence, and for other purposes.
  Sponsor: Senator Amy Klobuchar, [MN] (introduced 6/16/2009) 2 Cosponsors
  Latest Major Action: 6/16/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 



.
Recommendation: Vote Yes for Environmental Health Bill  S.1269  
My Political Representative: Senator Amy Klobuchar

Read 'n' Seed 4: Third quarter of Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life

The third quarter of my read 'n seed for Newman's Own Guide to a Good Life, covers chapters 6 and 7 (p.104-128). 

Chapter 6 titled "Shopping," was very pertinent to localization and safety of consumerism. With the holidays just around the corner, I wish I could read this entire chapter to the average American consumer. I feel the need to do a lot of quoting, but I'll stick to one that really stuck out to me. Nell discusses purchasing products that should "matter to you," involving your families health as well as supporting local economy. "When you shift your dollars from a megastore to a mom-and-pop store because the smaller place carries water-soluble paint and decking that isn't loaded with aresenic, you're showing the big boys the way to your heart and you're supporting local economy too. If a company hasn't been a good neighbor--they recklessly pollute the city where they're headquartered, they refuse to recycle, or they won't give their workers a fair shake-- you can withhold your dollars from them until they shape up." I feel like that quote also goes well with my Coca-Cola Share and Voice post when discussing the idea of a megastore being a "poor neighbor."  

I really like how she refers to a ripple effect when you do buy "green" products (meaning environmentally friendly), because you are educating others by example. Some products to watch out for when shopping are Phthalates (chemicals that soften plastic); choose PVC free, especially when shopping for toys that may end up in a childs mouth. Also, when building or remodeling your home, try to avoid VOC's (volitile organic compounds); if you smell them, they are getting into your lungs. Instead, look for environmentally friendly options which are becoming more readily available (oftentimes slightly more expensive, but you have to decide if your health is worth the cost.) 

(pictured below, my puppy Lola)

Chapter 7 titled "pet care,"  wasn't quite as helpful as chapter 6, but there were a few good tips for keeping your pets healthy, but a lot of it is pretty obvious, and some of it doubles as ways for us to keep healthy as well. She does mention that the rule about "no table food" for your pets only really makes sense if you eat a really poor diet (which many Americans do, hence the rule applies). Humans and pets alike should avoid white refined sugar, white refined flour, and candy. Specifically, when it comes to pet food, avoid packages that begin with "beef by products, water, poultry by-products." Pets can have human food so long as its "healthy" (not high in fat, sugar or salt), but specifically shouldn't have chicken or fish bones, citrus, tomatoes, organ meat (unless organic) and bacon.
 Many other tips double as overall safety tips for everyone: fresh water, no cigarette smoke, keep away from poisonous household chemicals, organic is the way to go for food-soaps-repellents-and shampoo. Being conscious about your pets' health is important, it oftentimes goes hand-in-hand with your own health!

Overall, very informative chapters, it's always nice to be able to share what I learn with everyone!

Share and Voice: Superstar Blogger!!

I received this award from Ashley  for my quality format and content for my blog about the coca cola company: Share and Voice: How do you feel about Coca Cola? along with a video guide.

I will be now passing this Award onto Mediterranean Melissa for her Share and Voice: Eco Shic Hotel. This blog was really eye catching and a really interesting approach as well! Content was interesting, and she depicted many forms of "eco-chicness" through photography and displayed that in a blog. Even better, was the fact that she did this while on a vacation! Overall, very appealing post in both content and format. :)

 

 

 

Award Instructions for the Award Winner(s)

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
   
2. Within 1 week, 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. Be sure to include the Award in the post as well!
   
5. Publish the post.
6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.
7. Continue the process...

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 6: Weekly Update

Week 6 was probably my most difficult week with my SMART goal. My SMART goal once again was to not eat red meat, and eat less than 2 servings of other meats per week.


I have had way too many challenges this week. It has been extremely busy, and basically I haven't had time to even think about what to eat and not eat; if something is available or offered, I just eat it. 




I am hoping that this wont be a problem for me in the long run.When under pressure I just need to remember its important to manage my time as best as I can, and I guess what I can take from this is planning ahead definitely pays off. I did have success when it came to my goal of not eating red meat, but I believe I had chicken 3 times this week, fish once, and pizza... :( I also have not paid much attention to dairy, but I did have ice cream one night. Sometimes there is nothing better than ice cream.


Overall, this week was a semi-failure. But, I will admit that its nice to just not worry about what I eat once in awhile, and just eat whatever I had in the freezer.
Rule #1, plan ahead and make sure healthier foods are available when I don't have time to go grocery shopping!
Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 6 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 6

Share & Voice: Go Dakota County!

"As Americans, we generate 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste each year"

I was searching for articles on reducing chemicals in our daily lives, and was very happy to find that Dakota County's website is a great resource in itself!!

First of all, you can choose from a large category of different ways to protect the environment, and each category has many helpful tips. 

The categories I found the most interesting were "Reducing harmful products in your home" and "Reducing harmful products in your yard" 

Some valuable tips that I found from these were the importance of buying "green" cleaning supplies with non toxic, all natural or biodegradable ingredients. Also, multi-purpose products such as white vinegar can be used to clean many different appliances. Look out for words such as corrosive, toxic, dangerous... AND always pay attention to the label (more is not always more effective). Vacuum often if you have children playing on the floor, especially if shoes are not taken off at the door (many chemicals leach onto our shoes). Floor mats keep chemicals by the door, and can be washed as well. Do not cut grass too short, it allows for better tolerance. Allow the grass trimmings on the lawn to act as a natural fertilizer. Use phosphorus free fertilizers. Reduce chemical weed killers by pulling weeds by hand!!

Many other health tips are covered in their health section from food to environment and water, even a Green Guide, check it out!

There are many different areas to search within the website, and after searching it, I really wanted to advocate for more available resources in my hometown (county) AND help my county create a more helpful website like this one!

Advocacy Project: My Political Representatives

My representatives!

For the first advocacy project, I will list my political representatives and ways in which to contact them such as their website. 

You can call or write to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, using this website or the office address below:

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

To contact congressmen/ women of Minnesota, this website provides contact links to each individual.
Al Franken: 320 Hart Senate office building

      Washington DC 20510

      Phone: 202-224-5641

The governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, can be contacted at: (651) 296-3391 or via email.

Minnesota state legislators can be contacted via a database at http://www.leg.state.mn.us/.
John Kline:

101 West Burnsville Parkway

  #201 Burnsville, MN

Phone: (952) 808-1213

The county board president of Kandiyohi County is Richard Falk, here is a link to the commissioners home page
320-235-0271

627 NW Knollwood Drive

Willmar, MN  56201

The mayor of my hometown is Denny Baker, the Spicer mayor homepage gives his contact information as well as other city board members. 
(320) 796-5218




Email:
denny@bprinting.com

Reflections: week 7 and 8

The past two weeks have been really informative! 
I did a lot of personal research for this class for my share and voices, as well as for maintaining my lifestyle change.

 

Week 7 started with a discussion and a movie called "Green" which was about chemical plants near residential neighborhoods causing dangerous health problems to citizens who do not have the resources to just up and move. It was sad because it is a huge problem that seems to be far overlooked.
The activity (researching products at Skindeep) for this week actually got me started on browsing new, safer make-ups to try, which is really awesome because I learned that my make-up is actually terrible for my health, as well as many other skin products of mine. 
Week 8 started with the movie "Thirst" which actually inspired my last Share and Voice blog about the company Coca-Cola. The eye opener about "junking" for this week was also cool because I have always been into recycling and reusing materials, especially for art projects at school and home. Learning about different thrift shops and "green" shops was really helpful because I love browsing through second hand stores and seeing what I can find! I actually found different parts of my halloween costume at Savers and Goodwill, so it was nice to research and see other places around town I can go. I actually visited the "Green Mercantile" which had a lot of really neat, safe to the environment products! Everyone should go check it out!

Share and Voice: how do you feel about Coca-Cola?

In class, we watched a video called "Thirst," which I will put in as short of terms as possible: a film about the mistreatment of water and those who deserve to use it. This video brought up an issue involving the Coca-Cola company and how they have plants in developing countries that are using up public water supplies and leaving behind toxic waste, as well as trying to sell coke products back to the community whom would rather just have their water back.

This issue really caught me off guard, I can honestly say I had no idea this was happening.

For this Share and Voice, I decided I wanted to show some claims against the Coca-Cola company, as well as their side and let you be the judge. 

When we see fun loving commercials for coca-cola, who doesn't get a positive feeling?

This is not the case in India.
This next video shows the extreme problems Coca-Cola has created in developing countries such as India. 

I did not know that the sale of Coca-Cola has actually been banned in many cafterias in India because high levels of pesticides containing DDT were found in it. Additionally, piles of toxic waste left behind were found to contain extremely high levels of arsenic as well as lead, causing dangerous health affects to many civilians. 

My final video contains arguments from citizens of India, as well as Coke's defense against many of the accusations. This video is slightly longer, but the epic music makes up for it. ;)

All in all, I am very surprised and disappointed that a powerhouse company like Coca-Cola tries to send off really happy, upbeat messages to their customers, yet at the same time ruin thousands of lives.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update

The past week of my Lifestyle Change has probably been my best, decision-wise. 

My smart goal is to cut down on my meat consumption, specifically cut red meat from my diet, and eat less than 2 servings of other meats per week. Achieving my goal this week was much easier than I thought it would be thanks to certain situations. (one of which was not eating at home so I could avoid my barbaric roots as my halloween costume shows below) My meat choice of last week is the sushi pictured to the right. 

My challenges were that there were 3 situations in which meat was very hard to turn down, but my successes were that I chose no meat in each situation. My friend's birthday on Friday was at Mexican Village, and I LOVE their sizzling chicken fajitas... but I knew that I would feel much better choosing the all veggie fajitas. 2nd was at our Halloween party, we ordered pizzas, but I am trying to cut down on meat and dairy, so I  chose to get Chipotle (awesome burrito place!) before the party. That brings up the 3rd hard decision which was turning down my favorite chicken burrito at Chiptotle for a veggie burrito, but it was still really good! 

One main reason I have been successful, is that after I eat, I don't feel terrible or tired but rather energized! Another reason is having support from my boyfriend who has chosen to also not eat as much meat as long as I don't, so its nice to just not have that temptation around most of the time. For the most part, I haven't had any problems this week, it has been a good experience. I learned that once again, just making that initial decision is the hardest part; I never thought I could turn down meat as much as I have. At home, our meals were based around meat, that's just the way its always been, so this is definitely a good step for my health, and one that I never thought I could do. 

My plans for the coming week are to keep at it. My diet has been going really well and there is nothing else I am willing to alter, besides cutting down on the amount of dairy I eat.

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

 Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

This weeks eye opener started with defining a few terms including the following...

antiques/ antiquing:of or belonging to the past; not modern; shopping for antiques

junk/ junking: Junking is the retrieval of ordinarily discarded things and materials

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

resale shop: like a thrift shop, used items can be re-sold

These terms all relate to environmental health in many ways. First of all, they all involve the idea of "reducing, reusing and recycling" which we all know are key concepts involved in environmental health. Reusing products can benefit our wallets as well as mother nature. Antique shops, thrift stores, and resale shops take your items (sometimes giving you money, coupons, or the feeling of giving to a good cause) and re sell them for someone else to use, which prevents these items from filling up landfills for hundreds of years and causing multiple other problems that go along with that. One interesting article I found on this subject is called Seven Reasons to Shop at a Thrift Store which also gives environmental reasons as well as personal reasons. 

Here are some local resources I found for each of the above terms:

Old Town Antiques: Duluth MN, (218) 722-5426

Chesney Salvage: Duluth, MN (218)721-4874

Cambridge Flea Market:  Main Street, Cambridge, MN 763.689.4888

Savers (Thift shop):  Duluth, MN (218) 722-1894

Green Mercantile (many upcycled and green products): Duluth, MN (218) 722-1771

Plato's Closet (re-sale shop): Duluth, MN 218-733-9455

I have gone to several of these places, its always interesting to see what you can find, and normally it's very affordable!

Last but not least, a visit to Junkmarketstyle.com! check it out! You can find some very interesting project ideas.

I really enjoyed the vintage jewelry project, I personally love vintage styles and this jewelry looked so authentic! My artistic background definitely contributes to my attraction to this kind of stuff. The creator, Gretchen, really had an eye for designing these awesome pieces! Another project I enjoyed had a very similar appeal, which was the Paris themed necklace collection, also by the same creator. These had a slightly different style but still very cool! It definitely makes me want to start designing my own stuff rather than spending money on it! Last but not least, was another project that caught the attention of my artistic eye. This project made chandeliers out of junk! They are gorgeous and also have that same vintage look; I have always been attracted to chandeliers for some reason. 

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second quarter of Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life

The second quarter of my Read'n Seed, for Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life was very intriguing!
The chapters were 3 (energy and water), 4 (communication) and 5 (money, credit and investing); pages 40-103.


The main topics I read about started with energy and water.  Dirty coal, the greenhouse effect, and the Kyoto Protocol (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) aimed at combating global warming) were all discussed in the energy section. Some suggestions for consumers were to use rechargeable batteries, use compact flourescent lights, and use solar lights outside to name a few. The water section brought up the fact that over 97% of the water on Earth is unavailable for human use. Some tips suggested were to not let water run, use full loads when washing clothes, and just be more conscious in general. I found the list of ten things to do instead of showering twice a day quite funny. For example, repopularize the Macarena or learn the way to San Jose. 
Chapter 4, communication brought up some interesting points such as printing responsibly-- its easy to print everything we need, additionally choosing recycled paper and recycling cartridges. 
Chapter 5 was very informative, especially for college students! Many terms were presented such as screening which is a criterion or set of criterion that helps you determine which companies' stocks will be included in a portfolio and which will be excluded. Additionally, shareholder activism which is when you buy a stock, you become part owner in a company and must be socially responsible. Lastly, community investment, which involves investing in municipal bonds that fund public initiatives. 
The most interesting things I learned this quarter were the reminders about saving energy and water, just being conscious in general. 
Anyways, I definitely found these chapters to be informative and important to address especially when our society is having all kinds of money problems and credit crisis's, but I find the energy and organic food chapters much more interesting. 

Share & Voice: website and debate

I found a really interesting website called Our World 2.0
There is a lot going on and a lot to explore! Climate, Oil, Food, Biodiversity and About, are the categories.
Under each category, you can find really interesting articles and pictures about each topic.
The home page shows the newest articles and highlights those in pictures at the top of the page.

I really was puzzled by "Debate 2.0: Meat or the climate? Pick one!" but in a good way. This article by Brendan Barret poses a question to the reader about their diet. It talks about our diets affecting global warming: specifically eating meat.
The opening statement of the article reads "Meat free Mondays has to be the way to go. Former Beatle Paul McCartney backs it. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, advocates it."

This previous statement, is first backed and then questioned. Some health ministers do not believe that our meaty diets affect climate change enough to matter, but others say that cutting out meat would have a great affect. They specifically link an article called Livestock's Long Shadow, which suggests that 18% of our greenhouse gases come from meat production. 

This is all very interesting to me, and I personally am all for "meat free Mondays," but it seems like quite a difficult task! I'd definitely like to see how it is advocated. 

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

The following week has been going well with my SMART goal for the most part. My goal is to eliminate red meat from my diet, as well as cut down on my intake of other sources of meat. I have been doing pretty good about finding sources of protein without eating meat.

One success I had was last weekend, I still had some ground elk meat that my mom had sent, but I instead decided to make my chili without meat. It turned out great! I replaced the meat with corn and black beans, and made corn bread on the side. Delicious. 

One challenge I had happened last night. I had a million things to do including starting and finishing a self portrait, as well as finishing a paper; the challenge was I was at my brothers house working on these things, and he offered to make me dinner. This dinner was spaghetti, that had a beefy meat sauce, and there was no way I was going to turn down supper when I had no time to make my own! So, spaghetti was my one downfall, but it was the first time I have had red meat since I started my goal, so its not too disappointing. 

So, what I have learned this week is you always have to be willing to have some leeway when it comes to your goal; you never know when your going to be lacking even an hour in your day to make dinner! (especially if your brother is ACTUALLY cooking for you.)

I will continue with my goal as is for next week. Last week I had mentioned cutting down on my intake of dairy, which has been tricky, but good, so I will continue with that as well.


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