Over these first four weeks I have learned many new things. This Environmental Health course has brought many subjects and topics to my attention. There's a saying..."you always learn something new every day"...Well with this class I have. And I have been able to apply what I learned throughout my daily life.
Blogging isn't something I would have expected to be doing. Never have I ever even considered starting or writing my own blog. Now look at me; I have to comment and write on it every single day! I've learned you can do many different things with your blog. You build it to fit your own personality and style. You are the one who gets to choose what to write about so your readers are able to see through your eyes. Everyone has a different viewpoint. Reading all these different posts & topics shows all the different options out there and how no one thinks alike.
Each week, we were given a new task, such as: Eco-logical Footprint, Read 'n' Seed, and Share & Voice. The Eco-logical Footprint allowed us to see how much of the earth we use up and waste. I found out I'm wasting way more than I imagined. I now am constantly aware of the choices I make with recycling, garbage, and wasting other materials. The Read 'n' Seed allowed us to hear the opinions and ideas of other voices trying to be heard outside the classroom. We each are reading a book and describing it so our group members are also able to understand that there's other ideas that can help. The Share & Voice was my favorite. It allowed us to see how our group members are each individually taking a stand to help out. I would not have heard of half the stuff our group talked about if not for this blog.
Everything is new and intriguing. There's always room for change and new experiences. Now we know that we are here to support each other and continue coming up with new ideas in order to sustain and remain here on this earth.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Read 'n' Seed 2: First quarter of Trash Talk
I read all of Part One of this book, pages 21 thru 81. In part one they are focusing on different products we use in our daily lives, how they're used and benefits or ways we can keep on reusing. Reusing is our key term for Part One.
"Production of plastic grocery bas actually consumes 40% less energy, generates 80% less solid wast, produces 70% less air pollution, and releases 94% fewer waterborne wastes than paper bags!" We all try to collect plastic bags thinking we will reuse them, but sooner or later they over overflowing from our cupboards. Using cloth bags when going to the store will extend the life of the landfill, save $$ by reducing the number of bags companies need to buy, and also make it easier for stores to maintain prices if theres a reduction in plastic bag demand.
In 1995, there was 19 million tons of plastic sent to landfills- after recycling was employed, that number dropped by 1 million tons. Did you know toothbrushes contain up to 70% recycled polypropylene and plastic materials? Experts predict that in the next 20 years all plastics will become recyclable. Choosing these products is a way to support this effort. Reduce consumerism and save $$ by reusing old toothbrushes as cleaning tools.
Reuse, reuse, reuse.
"Production of plastic grocery bas actually consumes 40% less energy, generates 80% less solid wast, produces 70% less air pollution, and releases 94% fewer waterborne wastes than paper bags!" We all try to collect plastic bags thinking we will reuse them, but sooner or later they over overflowing from our cupboards. Using cloth bags when going to the store will extend the life of the landfill, save $$ by reducing the number of bags companies need to buy, and also make it easier for stores to maintain prices if theres a reduction in plastic bag demand.
In 1995, there was 19 million tons of plastic sent to landfills- after recycling was employed, that number dropped by 1 million tons. Did you know toothbrushes contain up to 70% recycled polypropylene and plastic materials? Experts predict that in the next 20 years all plastics will become recyclable. Choosing these products is a way to support this effort. Reduce consumerism and save $$ by reusing old toothbrushes as cleaning tools.
Reuse, reuse, reuse.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Share & Voice: Fruit Salsa Recipe!
Hey everyone, sorry there wasn't enough snack for everyone the other day, but here is the recipe so you are able to make as much of it as you want!!
I used mostly organic foods to make it for our class, but i'm sure it would be just fine wherever you get you ingredients...
1 package of 10 inch tortillas
1 container of strawberries- cubed
2 kiwis- peeled & cubed
1-2 apples- peeled & cubed
1 container of raspberries
1 T granulated sugar
1 T brown sugar
~~Mix all these ingredients in bowl. I added a little lime juice so the apples wouldn't brown. Chill until cold or ready to serve.
~~For the chips the directions say to use butter flavored cooking spray. I used real melted butter & spread that on the tortillas. I than sprinkled cinnamon sugar on one side & cut them into slices with a pizza cutter. Lay out flat. Bake at 350 degrees for about 6-10 minutes (8 worked best for my oven) Watch them carefully.
Hope you guys enjoyed it otherwise! There's nothing to really mess up, its all what you like to add & take out & such. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or want any other snack recipes!! (salsa & fresh guacamole)
I used mostly organic foods to make it for our class, but i'm sure it would be just fine wherever you get you ingredients...
1 package of 10 inch tortillas
1 container of strawberries- cubed
2 kiwis- peeled & cubed
1-2 apples- peeled & cubed
1 container of raspberries
1 T granulated sugar
1 T brown sugar
~~Mix all these ingredients in bowl. I added a little lime juice so the apples wouldn't brown. Chill until cold or ready to serve.
~~For the chips the directions say to use butter flavored cooking spray. I used real melted butter & spread that on the tortillas. I than sprinkled cinnamon sugar on one side & cut them into slices with a pizza cutter. Lay out flat. Bake at 350 degrees for about 6-10 minutes (8 worked best for my oven) Watch them carefully.
Hope you guys enjoyed it otherwise! There's nothing to really mess up, its all what you like to add & take out & such. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or want any other snack recipes!! (salsa & fresh guacamole)
Monday, October 4, 2010
Share & Voice: Farmers Market
So I know lots of us are reading books about food and local farms and how we should be contributing to their success. For those of you who don't know we have our very own Farmers Market here on the UMD Campus. Every Wednesday! Actually, their just ended...it runs from May thru September, but it was amazing while it lasted! Their vegetables were my favorite. With the cold season coming around I love to make all sorts of soups and stews and warm things...this was the perfect place to find the best & freshest foods. It was also very interesting to see local people's talents. From their farming skills to a man who blows glass jewelry and other special things. You never know who you're going to meet and what you can learn from them! Thats another amazing part about using local farmers...you can build relationships and they'll treat you like and actual person, they'll want to help you and get you what you need...Here is the UMD Farmers link and some other upcoming events with local groups to check out! They include other ways to get active too in the environment...take the time to take in the fall fresh air, enjoy it while you can!
Share & Voice: The World is Not Enough
I was scavenging through YouTube videos and found some interesting thins. I was searching for garbage and topics about trash to kind of match up with my book, "Trash Talk." I came across this music video and sure enough this song is called, "This World is Not Enough" and the artist is cleverly named, "Garbage."
It's kind of a cooky video, not a song that I would normally listen too but the lyrics are what are important. It talks about we are strong, we are able to heal, we are together in this world, and even though we are all not perfect we know how to survive...we're just too scared to.
So here's the link, feel free to check it out and let me know what you got from the song/lyrics and what you think the artist is trying to get across to us viewers...
YouTube - Garbage "The World Is Not Enough"
It's kind of a cooky video, not a song that I would normally listen too but the lyrics are what are important. It talks about we are strong, we are able to heal, we are together in this world, and even though we are all not perfect we know how to survive...we're just too scared to.
So here's the link, feel free to check it out and let me know what you got from the song/lyrics and what you think the artist is trying to get across to us viewers...
YouTube - Garbage "The World Is Not Enough"
Share & Voice: Hearts For Haiti
So this may not be quite as "environmentally friendly" but it was still as huge experience and something important to me. Last year, when the Earthquake in Haiti took place, it really stuck with that I needed to do something to help. Here were these helpless people, their entire country taken away from them...Whether they wanted the help or not (I heard stories from my friends in the military who went there & were not gracefully accepted) I wanted to have some part in doing something for someone. With the help of fellow ESG (Eta Sigma Gamma) Members who took action. With money out of my own pocket I bought supplies to make ribbon pins and fun hershey kiss roses to sell. It was around Valentines Day and they were a big hit! We sold every single one of those roses that we put together. Plus, there was a few random kind people who just wanted to donate money. In the end, from a small little craft, we raised $501! We donated the money to the American Red Cross here in Duluth, who was already a part of the recovery in Haiti. It was a fun bonding time and something good we can all share together now knowing that we did our best to help those people we will never know.
Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint
One of the first quizzes that I took was about air pollution. What my travel habits are doing to the environment. I calculated my travel miles: home to school, school to work, work to home. Calculated the total miles along with what kind of car, gas price, and type of gas gave me my results. They showed that I'm actually not doing too bad! They recommend though that I try to car pool, rather than driving alone & try walking/biking the smaller distances if I can.
I also took the ecological footprint quiz...this time my results weren't as good. I'm doing very bad. With all the extra services that our communities and businesses provide it's hard to balance out the ones that are unnecessary. If I were to use less of my time traveling those small distances or trips and recycle more I would have much less to feel guilty about and take up less space on this planet.
When I looked over the last quiz, Carbon Footprints of our Nation. We're also not doing so good as a whole. We here in the United States are all about the services, manufactured goods, and the mobility to get there. We are using up the most resources and doing nothing to replace them. We are too caught up in the next big thing that is happening. What happened to taking time to enjoy the place we live in. Taking the time to enjoy what was created for us...not what is being taken over by our own creations...
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