Reflection weeks 13-14 and Overall Course

Good Will!

Touring the Good Will here in Duluth was a great learning activity. We got to see the operations that go down behind the scenes, and I thought it was really cool to learn more about the great things this organization does for the community (like enabling and employing individuals with disabilities). This really made me feel good about shopping at Good Will. 

Lifestyle change finale!

In week 14 we all wrapped up our eco-chic lifestyle changes/SMART goals. It was great to hear that many of us plan on continuing with our lifestyle changes- that shows that this assignment was really valuable and practical. I know I learned a lot just from reading about the changes other blog group members had chosen. I think reading other people’s posts was a good way to prepare in case I someday decide to make any of the same changes my group members made. 

Advocating! 

To wrap up our advocacy projects we all created learning activities for other blog members to complete. The learning activities were all very informative but also fun and I thought this activity helped solidify a lot of the things we learned in these advocacy projects.  

Junk! 

I think we all had a lot of fun with our junking projects! This was a really cool way to drive home the idea of recycling but in a different way than I think many of us were used to. This activity let us all express our creativity in a useful way and I had a great time seeing what other people did for their projects. I thought it was fun to see all the possible ways to re-use old items and make something new! I know my hat hanger is going to come in handy this winter! 

I think overall what I learned from this class was that little changes and little things we do every day can make a difference. There are SO many issues with our environment (as we’ve learned about in class) that it can seem like it would be difficult to tackle them all, or difficult to make a difference. This class really showed me that the little changes I make DO make a difference, even if it’s just a small one. I also learned the importance of being aware of these issues, and how spreading the word to just a small group of people can actually be very influential. I learned so much from this course but I still feel like it’s just the tip of the ice berg and I plan on learning more about a lot of these issues we discussed in class in the future. I feel much more aware and educated now that I have taken this course. 

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Learning Activities-

Heidi:

Take childhood obesity quiz and report results/what was learned. 

I got 90% on this quiz about childhood obesity. I learned that being overweight at an early age has a lot of risks, including increased risk of hypertension and diabetes and it also makes it much more likely that an individual will be overweight later on in life. 

Mary:

Read 2 articles related to health reform and health insurance, watch a short video and play the game “bet your health”. 

I thought the article related to pros and cons of health reform was really interesting! As a health educator I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know too much of this info before doing this learning activity. I didn’t know that the new health plan would allow extended coverage for people with pre-existing conditions (I think that’s pretty cool) and I also think it’s awesome that the new plan would require free prevention and wellness benefits. I think that’s a great idea and could be so helpful in making our country healthier. 

Brier:

Watch videos and review the links provided and report 5 things learned, including reasons why you don’t smoke. 

1. Smoking costs Minnesota 3 billion dollars in health care costs

2. Tobacco causes 5,500 deaths in Minnesota annually

3. Smoking accounts for almost 1 in every 5 deaths in the United States annually

4. The tobacco industry spends over 100 million dollars a year just to market to Minnesota

5. Smoking is responsible for the leading cause of death in the United States- Coronary heart disease

I don’t smoke cigarettes because my parents smoked them when I was growing up and it set a great example of what NOT to do. 

Molly:

Read the articles provided and post a short reflection regarding chemical (BPA) regulation. 

I am definitely in favor of more rigid regulations for chemical use, especially in products and packaging that babies are exposed to! I’m amazed that babies can be exposed to levels of BPA that were higher than levels that caused serious side effects in animal studies. These babies are our future, yet we’re knowingly exposing them to harmful chemicals on a daily basis in infant formulas. It’s time to re-evaluate our chemical regulations. 

Kristen:

Read the articles posted on her blog then complete the crossword puzzle provided in a link.

Answers:

1. Air Quality Index

2.Air Toxics

3.Mobile Sources

4.asthma

5. carbon monoxide

6.EPA

Alicia

Read the following article and identify 3 myths and why they are myths about emergency contraception. List 3 places you can find emergency contraception.

1.Myth: Emergency contraception is the abortion pill. In reality, emergency contraception is a form of birth control that stops pregnancy before it occurs. In fact, emergency contraception does not work if conception has occurred.

2.Myth: Emergency contraception will harm my health. Emergency contraception is less hazardous than regular combination birth control methods.

3. Myth: I’m underage and I can’t get my parent’s consent. In reality, in most areas birth control can be provided to individuals under age. It is not required to obtain parental consent. 

Places where one can find emergency contraception:

Planned Parenthood

Women’s Health Center

Essentia

Advocacy Project: Uncovering the facts about cancer

Uncovering the Facts about Cancer

Purpose: 

To help people learn the facts about Cancer and how it can best be prevented. Completing this activity will provide students with the knowledge they need to start making lifestyle changes (if necessary) to help protect themselves against different types of cancer. This activity will also provide basic info about cancer and will allow students to search for and discover cancer-related information that is most interesting and of value to them individually. 

-Visit the WebMD webpage related to cancer and read up about cancer, it's effects, why it's so harmful, etc.

-Go to the American Cancer Society web page and read about known causes of cancer 

-Check out the webpage from preventcancer.org and read about some of the best ways people can protect themselves, their family, and their friends from cancer.  

Instructions:

1. First visit the WebMD webpage related to cancer and find 3 facts about cancer that interest you or that you never knew. 

2. Next, visit the American Cancer Society Cancer causes webpage and read about the different known causes of cancer. Be able to list 3. 

3. Once you feel you know what the causes/ risk factors are for cancer, go to this webpage  from Preventcancer.org and read about things you can do to reduce your risk for cancer. 

4. Report 3 common causes of cancer and describe 3 of the ways you think you could best protect YOURSELF against cancer. If you already meet all the criteria, discuss changes you think are the most helpful in general. 

Share and Voice: Real vs. Fake Christmas Trees

Photo Courtesy of http://www.halfvalue.com/christmas%20tree.jpg

I know I’ve done a lot of holiday-related posts lately but I guess I’m just really excited for break! Anyway, it occurred to me that it could be interesting to look into the eco-friendliness of Christmas trees (real vs. fake). I found this cool blog on the Chicago Tribune website called Julie's Health Club where she posted about Christmas Trees: Real vs. Artificial vs. Eco-Friendly. This post discusses different types of Christmas trees and the pros and cons of each. As it turns out, artificial Christmas trees leave a pretty big carbon footprint, as I’m sure many of us assumed. This article offers tips for making an environmentally friendly christmas tree purchase or choosing environmentally friendly alternatives. Check it out, see what you think!

Share and Voice: Duluth Restaurants

Hey guys, for this Share and Voice I just thought I'd compile a list of restaurants in Duluth that serve vegetarian, vegan, locally grown or organic foods. This idea came to me when I was eating out the other day at a restaurant (not on this list...) and I started to wonder where the food I just ordered came from. Here's for future reference:

Pizza Luce:
11 East Superior Street
218-727-7400
Vegan and vegetarian friendly food options (includes pizza toppings like soy cheese, etc)

Duluth Grill:
118 South 27th Avenue West
218-726-1150
Lots of vegetarian, gluten-free and organic food options. Recently featured on Food Network!

Amazing Grace Bakery and Cafe:
394 South Lake Avenue
218-723-0075
Vegetarian food options. Serves mostly breakfast food. Awesome bakery where baked goods are made fresh daily.

I would personally recommend these 3 dining establishments for those in search of more eco-friendly food options. Enjoy!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change: Week 5 Final Weekly Review and Overall Project Reflection

 It looks like this is the last week I’ll be keeping you all updated on my SMART goal of reducing my dairy consumption to no more than 1 serving (2 oz cheese, 1 cup milk, 1 yogurt, etc.) of dairy twice weekly. This last week went fairly smooth in terms of maintaining my efforts not to eat dairy (especially cheese!). The biggest challenges I’ve faced lately is simply being mindful of which foods have dairy in them. Lately I’ve been so busy that I’ve actually forgotten that I’m limiting my dairy consumption and I’ve had to remind myself just in the nick of time (especially when I go out to eat- dairy is in SO many of the best foods). 

Also, I’m still feeling a bit sad about cutting out such a large chunk of my normal diet, but I’ve been feeling a lot better and more confident about this lifestyle change now that I know I can stick with it for a while. Also, since I’ve been mostly dairy-less for a while now, I’ve noticed I feel a lot better and more healthy. It’s a great motivation to keep going, and I plan on continuing with this lifestyle change. 

Overall I think I would definitely recommend this lifestyle change to others. I won’t lie, I found this change to be pretty difficult simply because eating dairy was such a big part of my diet and I had a lot of eating habits to break in the process of cutting out dairy. As with any change though, I found it just took a bit of time and consistent effort, and with the support of a few friends I learned it was much easier to make progress towards my goal. I feel pretty good about the changes I’ve made, not only because I feel healthier now, but because I feel like I’m making less of an environmental impact by cutting down on my consumption of mass-produced dairy products. 

For those of you out there who might be interested in incorporating this lifestyle change into your own daily lives, here’s some tips and some info on what to expect/what I went through:

• Try to get someone to make the change with you- this helps you stay strong in the face of peer pressure (not eating dairy can be difficult when everyone around you makes dairyfull foods and eats them in front of you). 
• Pack a lunch/snacks before going to school/work- this ensures that you will be prepared with dairy-free food so you will be less tempted to buy or share foods that contain dairy (it can be difficult to make rational food choices when you’re STARVING at school, I’ve noticed). 
• Try to keep a steady supply of snacks (veggies, fruit, etc) and other dairy-free food at home- especially condiments. I found that using or trying out different condiments helped keep me from adding cheese to sandwiches, crackers, pasta, and other foods. 

Advocacy project: Letter and Fact Sheet

Letter:

December 6, 2010

Senator Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senate

302 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Klobuchar,

I am writing to encourage you to vote YES to bill H.R 1927: Assuring and Improving Cancer Treatment Education and Cancer Symptom Management Act 2009. Over 1,529, 560 new cancer cases are projected to be diagnosed in 2010 alone according to the American Cancer Society. As the second leading cause of death in the United States, cancer has become a threat to our national health and we need to make every effort to prevent cancer related deaths for future generations. 

This year alone, 1,500 people are expected to die each day because of cancer according to the American Cancer Society. Many of us believe this number doesn’t affect us, but in reality,  cancer can affect anybody, whether it be physically, emotionally or financially. According to the National Institute of Health, the overall cost of cancer in the United States in 2010 is 263.8 billion, including medical expenses and loss of productivity due to illness or death. 

Fortunately, cancer can largely be prevented by behavior change and education to encourage healthy behavior. According to the American Cancer Society, those particularly at risk of developing cancer include: smokers, heavy drinkers, people who are obese, those with poor diet or nutrition, and those who receive excessive sun exposure. The proposed bill H.R. 1927: Assuring and Improving Cancer Treatment Education and Cancer Symptom Management Act 2009, will provide education not only for those already suffering from the disease, but for those who have not yet acquired it but wish to learn how to prevent it. By showing your support for this bill, you will help our communities learn how to protect themselves against this devastating disease. 

My sincerest thanks to you for taking the time to listen to my concerns regarding this issue. I truly believe this bill will give our community the education it needs to start making healthy behavior changes to prevent this disease. I hope you will vote YES to help those in our community protect themselves against the unnecessary threat of cancer. 

Fact Sheet:

Cancer- We are all at risk

What is Cancer? 

Cancer is a group of diseases marked by excessive growth and spread of abnormal cells in the human body. If the spread of these abnormal cells is not controlled, it can result in death. In fact, according to the American Cancer Society cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. In the year 2010 alone over 569,490 Americans are expected to die of cancer.  

What are the known causes of cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society, causes of cancer include: Cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive sun exposure. It can also be caused by Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Human papillomavirus (HPV), or Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 

How can cancer be treated and prevented?

Cancer can be prevented through behavioral change, early screening by health professionals the use of vaccines, and the use of antibiotics. Behavior changes that are effective in preventing cancer include improved diet and exercise, quitting smoking, drinking alcohol only in moderation, and limiting sun exposure. 

Where can I learn more about cancer and how to help prevent it?

More information can be found at this American Cancer Society webpage, or their website