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!