Friday, October 30, 2009

Read 'n' Seed 3: Second quarter of "Trash Talk"

Chapters & pages covered

I read part two of my book, pages 89-143. The Chapters I covered were after sight, clean walking, diet, energy use, every little bit, holidays, indoor air, infant and feminine hygiene, organic gardening, organic waste, vermiculture, and water use.

Main topics

The parts/chapters that I thought were the most interesting to me were after sight and energy use. Again, my book is about this items that are the chapters and how to reuse them and make these items more eco-friendly by not wasting them or filling up landfills. With after sight, it talks about how many people who wear glasses have to get new glasses every time their prescription changes. That means new frames. Instead of tossing out the old frame, help people in need who might not have the money to buy glasses that need them. This way we are not just throwing them away and filling up our landfills but also helping others! The topic on energy use they say, “to waste energy is no different than throwing your hard-earned money out with the trash (96).” Energy creates pollution and pollution destructs our wilderness. It also states that an average household spends “1,300-2,400 dollars annually on energy—44% of that being heating and cooling (96).” People do waste energy and now there are ways to make your home for green, like using solar power to run or heat things.







What significant things you learned and new terminology

            This chapter looks at bigger ideas on how they effect our environment and it tells you ways to reduce your effect. Like energy use, clean walking, and your diet all effect our environment but doing it green will help! I knew most of the terminology in the chapter, expect for vermiculture: the cultivation of annelid worms (as earthworms or bloodworms) especially for use as bait or in composting. They use worms to convert organic residues into a valuable resource. Some benefits are increasing the amount of microorganisms, nutrients, and minerals in the soil with worm castings and protect outdoor wildlife.

Implications

This again affects society because it tells us what we have to do to preserve and help our environment & earth. We should care because if we keep going how we are, our earth and environment will diminish, like it already has, and for us to live we need our planet!! We should take and do anything we can do help, like biking to work not driving, less pollution in the air, using reusable bags, less waste of our energy resources. These are just a start of way to save and help out! 



Thursday, October 29, 2009

Share & Voice: Smoke Free Campus



Smoke Free Campus

Since I was not able to attend the smoking forum on campus I decided to add a little info myself!

•As I read my group members post about the forum, it sounded that the turn out for people who are for the ban of smoking was good! Also mentioned was how the arguments that the smokers portrayed who are not for the ban, were unreasonable. Have these smokers never read or heard anything on how smoking effects their health and others around them?

•Here is a website I found with shocking statistics that anyone who smokes should take into consideration!

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/facts_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking (if it doesn’t pop up, just click on S for smoking)










Facts

*Smoking causes cancers of the bladder, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas, and stomach, and causes acute myeloid leukemia. (1)

*Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person's risk for stroke. (7,8)

References on website page!



Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

My SMART Goal 
My SMART goal is to use a reusable bag every time I go to the grocery store or Target. I did well this week so far, because I haven’t needed to run anywhere to get anything. But I am going home this weekend and will be shopping, and I plan to keep a bag in my car, but hopefully I remember to use it!


Successes and Challenges 
Reminding myself that it is in my car and that I need to use it, also my boyfriend as started to use a reusable bag as well so that’s just another person to remind me! I am going to face a challenge when I go home and trying to not forget to use it on a quick errand. I am going to keep one in my car and tell my family they have to help me remember it! I am also going to make my family use reusable bags all weekend too!


Feelings
Well if I do use my reusable bag this weekend and don’t slip I am going to feel accomplished! I always feel good when I know I can stick to my goal and also inform others!


Learned
I learned that being eco-friendly by just using a reusable bag is just a start of helping our environment. I am hoping at the end of my lifestyle change I will still do my SMART goal and maybe others.


Plans for next week
I am going to stick to my SMART goal and not slip up! I might make my goal more challenging. When I go to the grocery store and buy food, to buy one organic thing every time. It can be produce, dairy, or a dry god, but at least one time when I leave will be organic!

p.s. sorry for my blog not showing up before! I tried to use a template to make it look cool....it didn't work....

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 Hosted By Amy @ Eco-Chic with Amy.
Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4

Monday, October 26, 2009

Share & Voice: Rainforest

At the start of my blog I said that I would post information about Rainforest and why they are in danger and how we can help!

Here is one website with lots of Rainforest facts:
http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm



Also here is a youtube video to watch about saving the Rainforest as well!










Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

I decided to pick my blush that I use, Clinique Blushing Blush Powder. Here is what I found out at the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. It had a score of 7 out of 10, not so good. I thought that since it was Clinique a more expensive brand of make-up that it would be better, but I was wrong. The ingredients in it can cause cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies, irritations and more. They listed all the ingredients in the product and what percentage of that is bad for you. I was reading through the list and I have not heard of any of the ingredients and most of them are very toxic. It makes me re-think putting it on my face, and how I have been using it for the past two months. I know there is make-up that is all natural or supposed to be, like Bare Minerals. I tried looking it up on the website but I didn’t find anything for it, maybe because it’s a newer product or nothing is wrong with it. Maybe next time before I buy make-up I will see what the rating is so I wont be using a toxic product! 







Friday, October 23, 2009

Reflection Post: Week 5 & 6


Week 5 we watched the movie called The Future of Food. I really liked this movie a lot. The movie was about how farmers were planting seed, that some how ended up being the seed that Monsanto chemically engineered, and then Monsanto would bring a lawsuit against them for not purchasing the patent. These farmers have farmed on these lands for years and never once changed their seeds, and Monsanto came in and took away their life savings and farmland because they were using “their” seed. It was really sad to see that happen to them. Another thing in the movie that impacted me was they were coming close to become a step closer to finding the cure for Breast Cancer and one of the genes they couldn’t use because it was already patented. We have been trying to cure cancer for years, and because of one gene they are now one step behind then closer. The movie goes on and it seems that there is no hope for us against chemically engineered food, until the last of the movie when they talk about farmers markets and organic farms. These two ideas are ways to buy foods that are no way touched by any chemicals and healthy for us. So there is hope for fresher foods after all!





Week 6 I was not in class due to being sick, but I did watch the movie Diet For A New America on YouTube. The movie is from the view point of John Robbins, who’s family owns Baskin Robbins, but decided to turn down anything from his family and live in British Columbia and live off of himself and grow foods. He talks about driving by a feedlot with lots of cattle getting fed seed, because that makes them fatter in areas we like to eat. These livestock can make up to 1.6 billion tons of manure (waste) and where does this waste go? Into the ground, streams and other waters supply near by. These chemicals run into water making algae and running our lakes affecting the eco-systems. This makes me think we need to change something! Ew!


In class everyone also made headers for their blogs and they look great! I am meeting with Steve on Monday to go over it, so I can add one to my page! 















Thursday, October 22, 2009

Share & Voice: Its My Life

Visit this website http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/emotions/volunteering/article7.html 


This website is about kids volunteering to help our environment. It helps kids find places to volunteer and ideas to help like recycling, planting trees, and clean up projects! It is a great way to get younger generations then us to get involved and help save our environment! Very Cool! :) PBS is always thinking of new ways for kids to be more involved too!