Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14 and Overall Course

WEEK 13

The Monday of week 13 we ended up having class at Goodwill.  It was awesome!!  I seriously loved the switch up of things, the tour, the group challenge of spending only $20, and everyone who worked there seemed so kind.  I never knew that Goodwill offered jobs for people with disabilities, I think that is great!  By employing people with special needs they actually get that work experience of working with people, being on time, and learn communication skills that they can use throughout the rest of their life.  I also enjoyed listening to the man who spoke to us and toured us around the building.  I could tell he loved his job and it was so nice to see the employers there wave to him as we were walking around.  This was probably my favorite day of class.

WEEK 14

This was the last day of class and unfortunatley I could not make it.  I ended up getting stuck up in the UP until Monday night, so that was kind of a bummer.  From the course calendar and other posts all the students brought in their junk projects and shared them to the class.  If you look at my previous post I shared mine through a blog post since I was unable to make it.  I also heard that I missed out on a delicious snack
:( bummer. 



OVERALL COURSE REFLECTION

I went into this course having no idea what environmental health was even about.  I am a psychology major, so it felt a little awkward to be in the beginning since I wasn't aware of much in the field.  I am so glad I decided to stick with it!  This class ended up being one of my favorites and I learned so much valuable information that I can relate back to for the rest of my life!

One big thing I learned was how to blog.  I heard of the term before, but I no idea how to create one or what I would even post about.  I now feel totally confident when using them and realize it could to a great tool to use for my future career.

I also loved the eco-chic lifestyle change!  I decided to get outdoors 3 times a week.  Overall, I reached my goal each week, with th exceptions of when I was very ill.  I realized that once you put enough energy into something and continue with a change, it eventually becomes second-nature and I can't even remember when I didn't work out.   I am very lucky to have had gotten this opportunity to make a lifestyle change that could benefit me.  Although, one thing I'm thinking about switching up is to bring a baggy along and pick up any trash I see while I am outside running (once the weather gets warmer of course). 

Overall I feel like I have gained so much knowledge from being in this course.  Now I realize how important it is to recycling/resuse, how critical it is to support no smoking campuses, that it's better to buy stuff in large quantities, buying local food betters our environment greatly, and that reusable bags rock.  Before I had the idea that I couldn't do much to better the environment, but now I realize it's the little things that matter!  Hope you all have a good break and good luck with finals everyone!

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

MALS RAIN FOREST ACTIVITY:  RELAY FOR LIFE

*This activity was great!  It made me aware of what Relay for Life is and how people can become partakers in this event.

Three Things I Learned...
1.)  This organization was created to help raise money for the American Cancer Society.  People come together who have had cancer affect their life in some way and show the world that they can fight back!
2.)  I thought it was the candles were a great sentimental aspect to add to the run--which represented the people who lost the battle with cancer.  It is pretty sad if you think about it, but on the bright side of things these deaths encourage people to engage in the walk and more research time dealing with cancer.
3.)  It's a 24 hour walk!  WHOA

MEDITERRANEAN MELISSA ACTIVITY:  WATER SCIENCE

*The purpose of this activity was to make aware the actually statistics dealing with water use around America.  We then visited a couple websites and entered our own information to figure out how much water I used.  I also then answered an opinion survey which was kind of cool because I got to see how others answered the questions around the country.  There was also a link that I visited that showed the current water quality around the state of MN. 

*I feel that this was such an engaging post and the sites had great information to them!

*I entered all of my information into "How much water you use in a day when you are at home all day..." and the results indicated I use about 90.3 gallons!!! That is isane holy cow!!  This makes me want to start limiting the amount of water I use. 

*Here are the numbers they used in their calculations:


Bath: 50 gallons
Shower: 2 gallons per minute
Teeth brushing: 1 gallon
Hands/face washing: 1 gallon
Face/leg shaving: 1 gallon
Dishwasher: 20 gallons/load
Dishwashing by hand: 5 gallons/load
Clothes washing (machine): : 10 gallons/load
Toilet flush: 3 gallons
Glasses of water drunk: 8 oz. per glass (1/16th of a gallon)



ASHLEY'S GREEN LILLY PAD ACTIVITY:  FLOURIDE AROUND YOU

*For this activity we read three different articles for this activity being the top ten facts of having fluoride, fluoride sources, and information on how much fluoride is in the community you reside in.  Very interesting articles and brand new information for me!

I decided to post a picture of the toothpaste I use daily.  Seems pretty obvious that this would have flouride in it, but it made sense to post it, since I use it two times a day.  I couldn't even imagine what my teeth would look like if I didn't use toothpaste.  I absoultely hate not brushing my teeth, so it'd be kinda tough for me to give up my toothpaste even if it had dangerous chemicals in it.  I guess I could always substitue to another toothpaste that is safer for my health...but idk...i really like my vivid white crest.

Share and Voice: Junk Project

Since I was unable to make it to class today I am now sharing my junk project through this post.  Over the weekend I went to a family Christmas party at my grandma's house and kept this project in mind.  My grandma has so much junk in her basement it's crazy, so I knew it wouldn't be hard to find some things she had laying around and put them to good use.  I took two items back home with  me...

This jar glass was sitting in a box in my grandma's basement about to go to the the town's thrift store.  Instead I decided to take it home with me to use as a change holder.  It was perfect, because just a couple weeks ago my other change bowl got knocked off my dresser and busted, so I had all my change in a zip lock baggy until now.

I found this vase in the same box, as well.  It was super dusty and didn't look that great, but I washed it off and it ended up looking brand new.  My grandma she said she got it around two years ago for her birthday, which held a boquet of flowers.  She didn't have any use for it, so she stored it---a ritual for her.  I thought it was cute, so I took it home and now I use it to hold my dry erase markers!

Advocacy Project: Concepts Relating to Obesity in America Learning Activity

PURPOSE:

To make aware ideas, concepts, and facts that correlate with obesity and to bring about the seriousness of the disease.  And also to comprehend the idea that the trend of obesity is steadily rising and something needs to be put into place to hault this trend.

BACKGROUND/REASONING/EVIDENCE: 

There is a vast amount of information known about obesity and the negative aspects that come along with it.  According to Down to Earth, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that obesity in adults have increased by 60% within the past twenty years and obesity in children have tripled in the past thirty years.  This is a crazy incline that needs to be turned around!  Unfortunealty, obesity-related deaths have increased to more than 300,000 a year, which is second to tobacco-related deaths.  Down to Earth states in their article that Native Hawaiians have the highest rate of obesity, being that 20% of Hawaiian children are overweight.

As the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry states, through techological advancement, America has found ways to produce food in large amounts, leading the quality of food to lessen drastically.  The highly processed foods are loaded with sugar and hydrogenated oils, which are not good for our bodies.  Another terrible statistic is that the average child sees more than 10,000 food ads on TV each year, most for high-fat, high-calorie, and high-sugar meals.  Children's socialization skills are also greatly hindered when they are overweight, as they usually are the ones at school to be made fun of, leading to these impairments.

Accoriding to ObesityinAmerican.org gives plenty of facts about obesity in America.  One being that a raging 33% of children in the USA are obese!  That means 1 out of 3 children are considered to be abnormally overweight!  It also brings about the fact that social economic status is greatly correlated with the risk of becoming obese.  It is also important to realize that obesity is a life long treatment, so it should be concerned as a serious issue.  There are many complications obese people face, such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, high cholesterol, etc.  Some physical complications can results in difficulties breathing, walking or running, pain in knees and back, increased sweating, and gallstones.



Netdoctor suggests that there are a couple causes of obesity including: overeating, irregular meals, lack of daily physical activity, and hereditary genes.

INSTRUCTIONS:

I had originally planned to create a word find for these facts and definitions, but sadly this post would not let me copy and paste the puzzle I made into this document.....so here is plan B....

After reading the above summary of the reliable links and resources I found, please take the time to answer these seven questions dealing with obesity in America today, by referring to the above information (there is no need to click on the links, I summarized the articles for you).


1.)  Obesity can cause ________________ referred to as high blood pressure and can harm the arteries.

2.)  ______________ are highest at risk for obesity.

3.)  _____ percent of children in the US are considered obese.

4.)  Obesity is a _______   ________ treament.

5.)  Obese children's __________________ skills are greatly hindered, mainly due to the disease.

6.)  _________   ___________ is positively correlated with the risk of becoming obese.

7.)  Increased consumption of ____________ foods have assisted to rise the trend of obesity.

*If I can figure out how to get my word find puzzle on this post, you should try that out as well!