Eye Opener: Environmental Learning Activities

Sustainability with Sam

Sam's activity was a quiz from Web MD regarding asthma. I took the quiz and got all of the answers correct, YAY! I didn't realize that asthma can be triggered by emotional stress as well as environmental factors. Also, by taking the quiz I didn't realize that a person without asthma can exhale about 75% to 85% of the air in the lungs within a second, emptying them within three seconds. Sam's activity was very informative and I learned some new things that I wasn't aware of prior to taking her quiz. Nice job.

Go Blue Too with Carly

Carly's activity was a crossword puzzle that tested your food safety knowledge. I couldn't access the actual puzzle because of a server error but I did take the quizzes and read over some interesting information regarding food safety. I took some of the quizzes and found out some very interesting facts about food safety. You're supposed to wash fruits and vegetables under cold water instead of warm water. The refrigerator should be set at below 40 degrees, canned tomatoes can be stored in the pantry for 18 months, and you're supposed to wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds under hot water just to name a few. Carly's activities were very interesting and informative. Nice job.

Earth and Me with JD

JD's activity was very cool in that he related his activity to what we've been covering in class. He used a crossword puzzle to test our knowledge on being Eco-Chic. I believe these are the answers but I'm not 100% sure: 1. down-recycling, 2. down-reuse, 4. down-hybrid autos I think, 2. across-reduce, 3. across-eco-chic, 5. across-junking, 6. across-bus. I enjoyed completing JD's crossword because it was a bit of a refresher on what we did this semester. Nice job.

Kristen's Atmosphere

Kristen's activity was a link of three different videos that showed the effects of smoking. This issue was identical to my advocacy project and I thought her videos were very creative. The parody of the Brady Brunch video was quite comical but showed just how bad secondhand smoke can be as it showed two of the kids with serious health conditions-asthma, and heart disease. the second video, which was extremely eye-opening and morbid showed what smoking does to your organs including your lungs, heart, brain, and eye-sight, just to name a few. This was a very informative video and if people stopped to watch it they might think twice before smoking!!! Lastly, the third video showed and experiment where cigarette's are being burned into a water bottle and after a while the water turns completely black representing the tar that's in cigarettes. Each cigarette contains 18mgr of tar and at the end of the experiment the person boils the black water on the stove and the water evaporates but the tar remains. Absolutely scary! Awesome post Kristen.

Dane's Trail of Health

For Dane's activity we had to write a an essay or picture ourselves in the shoes of those who live in the gulf states whom were affected by the BP oil spill. Dane noted, which I wasn't aware about was that Duluth's economy takes in $400 million dollars from tourism a year. It would affect my job in that with less money comes cutbacks and layoff's which equals no job. It would affect family members and friends in that they too would probably suffer from job losses and money gained overall. It would affect the places that I go in that they would probably have to cut hours of operation and possibly shut down all together and that would affect when I could go there based on my schedule, etc. The national perspective on Duluth would probably be one that not a lot of people would want to visit due to poverty levels I'm sure, which is really sad and I now feel very sorry for the businesses and people of the gulf coast, more than I previously did. Nice post Dane.

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

From way long before I was born my family and I have been living off of the land in some way, shape, or form. When I say that I mean that we hunt, fish, blueberry pick and wild rice among other things such as: we've built our own houses, hunting shacks, and cabins along with burning wood for a heat source. My dad taught me at a very young age how to hunt, fish, blueberry pick, and wild rice and still do all of these things today. The picture above was taken a few years ago at our family cabin on Lake Vermillion of myself and my uncle Fred after we cut some firewood for the cabin.

 

These two photos are of our family's hunting shack and cabin. The one on the right is our family hunting shack which is located in Buyck, MN on the Echo Trail. We built this shack with our own hands in 1994 but had previous shacks long before I was born. The picture on the left is our family cabin which is located on Lake Vermillion in Cook, MN was constructed by my family members in 1970 and stands like the picture shows today. We use both of these sites for extended periods of time throughout the year especially during the MN grouse hunting, deer hunting, and fishing seasons.

These two photos represents the fishing that our family has done for many years. The picture on the left was taken last spring on Lake Vermillion of a walleye that I caught which was 27 1/2 inches and weighed around 8 pounds. I released the fish right after we took this picture. The picture on the right was taken by myself last spring of my dad and brother while fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. We catch the fish and eat them for a food source not only during the fishing season but throughout the year. We have huge fish fry's during Memorial Day weekend and usually throughout the season depending on what we catch. We use the family cabin pictured above as base camp during the MN fishing season on Lake Vermillion and we use the shack when we go to the BWCA. We clean the fish ourselves and recycle/compost the remains of the fish in the lake for other fish, birds, and animals to eat.

  

These photos represent the deer hunting and grouse hunting that my family has been doing for around 80 years. It all started with my grandfather who began hunting in the area around the 1930's. We process all of our deer ourselves. What I mean by that is we skin the deer and cut it up and package it ourselves to make ground venison, chops, jerky, steak, and polish. After we are finished cutting them all up we donate the hides to hides for habitat and we compost the remains in the woods for the other animals to eat. We gut the grouse out the same way and compost the remains as well in the woods. We usually make wild rice grouse soup with the breast of the bird. We also used to trap animals such as beavers, mink, otter, fisher, and pine martin, but we haven't trapped in some time now. As for the pictures, the picture on the left is of my dad with a grouse he shot this past deer season and the picture on the right is of myself and the deer I shot a few weeks ago. It was an 11 point buck with a 13 inch spread and 10 inch tines.

   

These photos above represent the wild ricing that my family and I have been doing for many years. My dad began wild ricing around 30 years ago or so and still does it to this day. I started ricing around 5 years ago and go every year now thanks to my dad passing it down to me and my brothers. We used to harvest and process the wild rice on our own but now we bring it to a guy in Cass Lake to get it processed. We use the rice to make hot dishes and casseroles or we simply just boil it in hot water. The picture above was taken this past fall in the Brimson, MN area around Two Harbors. The people above from left to right is myself, my brother Craig, my nephew Jacob, my older brother Jerry, and my Dad. My other nephew Tyler is taking the picture. The bags in front of us are filled with wild rice. We picked about 320 pounds total that day between all of us. It was a good day! My dad has taught me a lot of valuable things/skills that I will pass down to my kids and grandkids and for that I thank him very much.

      

                                       

  

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part 1: Terms:

• Antiques/antiquing- An antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human society. Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique).
• Junk/junking-  Any old or discarded material, as metal, paper, or rags. Anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash. Source: (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/junk).
• Flea market- A type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent. The flea-market vendors may range from a family that is renting a table for the first time to sell a few unwanted household items to a commercial operation including a large variety of used merchandise, scouts who rove the region buying items for sale from garage sales and other flea markets, and several staff watching the stalls. Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea_market). 
• Thrift shop- A shop that sells used articles, especially clothing, as to benefit a charitable organization. Source: (http://www.answers.com/topic/charity-shop).
• Upcycling- The process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycling).
• Resale shop- A retail store that stocks and sells merchandise on consignment. Source:(http://www.answers.com/topic/consignment-store). 

Part 2:

1. The terms above have a great deal to do with environmental health in that everything is already owned and not being manufactured using harsh chemicals, etc.... and items are being recycled from person to person to ensure maximum usage. No wanting and wasting is being done for the most part.   

         Antiques/Antiquing:
         Old Town Antiques & Books
         Location: 102 East Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802
         Phone: (218) 722-5426
         Junk/Junking:
         John's Twin Ports Recycling
         Location: 614 1/2 East 1st Street, Duluth, MN 55802
         Phone: (218) 727-2185
         Flea Market:
         Studebaker Drivers Club Swap Meet Flea Market and Classic Car Show
         Location: Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Road, Duluth, MN 55811
         Phone: Yet to be verified
         Thrift Shop: 
         Salvation Army
         Location: 2101 West Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55806
         Phone: (218) 722-7723
         Upcycling:
         Blog: Black Rose Bags
         Location: Black Rose Bags
         Contact Info: blackrosebags@hotmail.com
         Resale Shop
         Goodwill
         Location: 700 Garfield Avenue, Duluth, MN 55802
         Phone: (218) 722-6351

Part 3:

Project 1: Cool as Ice Junk
I liked this particular project because you could do and use this junk piece for so many things. In the picture the person used the piece as an ice container/holder for her wine. You could put a vase inside it and use it for flowers as a table decor item or you could just soda or beer on ice. I liked it!

Project 2: Tag Maker Tote
I really liked this particular item because you can use it as a storage device for a lot of different things; such as jewelry, keys, mail, and even an overnight utility tote for toothbrush, contacts, etc.... It's nice because it doesn't seem to bulky. Very cool idea.

Project 3: Freeze Frame
I really liked the freeze frame project simply because who doesn't need picture frames to put their many pictures in? I know my girlfriend and I do for the millions of pictures we have! Anyway this was an awesome re-use and never really found out what it was but it was really cool, especially the sawtooth that was used to hang it on the wall. Awesome project!

Source: Project Ideas From: (Junk Market)
           

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

1. For this eye opener we had to pick one cosmetic product that we use most frequently and I chose Listerine Total Care because I probably use this product most often (twice a day). We used the website Cosmetic Database to score and analyze the particular product that we chose. I have to admit that I wasn't to concerned about the health risks with this product but after reading the website's analysis my mind was changed and I'm seriously considering changing brands. I guess I've been a victim of marketing and popularity.
2. The ingredients that raises the most concerns were sodium fluoride and ethanol (alcohol). The concerns in each of these ingredients are: cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), additive exposure sources, irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), enhanced skin absorption, biochemical or cellular level changes, occupational hazards, and use restrictions. The overall score for this product according to the Cosmetic Database was a 5 out of 10 which is a moderate hazard. Some healthier alternatives to this mouthwash are: Jason Natural Cosmetics Nutrismile Mouthwash, Thera Breath Plus Rinse, and Herbal Choice Mari Mouth Wash just to name a few.
3. To be completely honest I was very surprised and shocked to read some of the possible health hazards associated with the product that I use and I'm considering switching brands to be more health conscious. I found this site to be very informative, beneficial, and health conscious and will probably use it in the future when buying certain cosmetic products.  
4. Information obtained from: (Cosmetic Safety Database).

Eye Opener: CSPI

1. I was absolutely shocked and awed after reading many of the statistics from the food supply website. I am going to jot down some of the assigning and mind blowing stats that the website provided when it comes to supplying our foods: 

• The energy required to manufacture 22 billion pounds of fertilizer could provide one year's worth of power for about 1 million Americans.
• Massive quantities of pesticides, fertilizers, and water are used to produce livestock feed. These chemicals often end up polluting the soil and water.
• Excessive use of animal manure as fertilizer can pollute waterways with nutrients, that cause algal blooms, and with bacteria that are harmful to human health.
• Irrigating feed-grain crops and raising livestock requires about 15 trillion gallons of water per year-over half of all irrigation water used in the United States.
• Pesticides that kill weeds may also kill beneficial insects and plants.
• Huge cattle feedlots foul the air with smelly and harmful gases and pollute water with run-off from manure.
• Hamburgers, cheese, whole milk, egg yolks, and other fatty meat and dairy products promote heart disease and some types of cancer. The saturated fat and cholesterol in those foods cause about 50,000 to 75,000 fatal heart attacks annually.
• Poor sanitary practices in modern slaughterhouses-combined with the presence of dangerous bacteria from animal remains-can transmit those bacteria to the meat that ends up in our supermarkets and restaurants. If not cooked well enough or handled properly, that meat can be the source of food-borne illness, some of which can be life threatening.
• The annual medical and related costs of food-borne illnesses and deaths from pathogens in animal products in the United States are over $7 billion.

     2. After reading through the website and its statistics I learned that the effects and damages that our food supply process causes are astronomical to not only our environment but to our overall well-being as humans. I hope that more people become aware of these environmental factors and health risks that our food supply process causes and that more people advocate for a healthier way of producing our food supply.
Source: (CSPI)

     

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

After reading the ecological footprint data on the Wikipedia site I was very surprised that humanity uses ecological services 1.4 times as fast as Earth can renew them. I thought that this number would be much higher than this personally. According to Wikipedia the ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint).


I was very shocked after taking one of the ecological footprint quizzes. According to the assessment if everyone lived like me we'd need 5.5 Planet Earth's to provide enough resources, 24.5 global acres of the Earth's productive area, and Services and Food were the highest percentage on my pie chart. I was kinda in disbelief by this information because I truly didn't think/realize that I used this much energy, services, etc. We recycle like crazy at my apartment! After looking at it and thinking about it the electricity we use and the amount of time I spend driving my car probably contributes to most of the damage on our planet. In closing, we as a population as a whole need to conserve natural resources and find other ways to live a more reasonable, less taxing lifestyle on the environment. 
Source: (Ecological Footprint)

Welcome to Matt's Smoke Free Zone

 Hello everyone my name is Matt Koski and I'm a senior here at UMD. My major is health education w/ a community concentration and a psychology minor. I also plan on obtaining a license here at UMD to teach special education. I've been in college for quite some time now and want to be finished!; although I did take about 2 and a half years off from college to work full time. My interests include: hunting, fishing, sports (I played football, basketball, and baseball all through high school and played football and baseball in Junior College), fantasy football, walking, the outdoors, playing video games, going to movies, and just relaxing at home. My family has a lake cabin on Lake Vermillion and a hunting shack up by Canada which I really enjoy being at. I grew up in a very small town in which my graduating class was about 40 people. I also grew up in the country so that's probably a contributing factor as to why I love being outdoors. My blog is going to be about the outdoors/wilderness and why we should preserve/enjoy them more than we do as a society. I would also like to add things on the benefits of not smoking and the harms that second hand smoke causes.

Do NOT include text in ALL CAPS or text in between the () symbols.)

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read 'n' Seed
6. Share and Voice

The members of my group are:

1. Brenda@Barefoot in the Backyard with Brenda
2. Dane@Dane's Trail of Health
3. JD@Earth and Me with JD
4. Sam@Sustainability with Sam
5. Alicia@Out and About with Alicia
6. Molly@Molly's Rico Eco

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile." 

Well that about wraps it up for the introductory portion of the class. I hope my first blogging experiences are good ones and I hope to hear from all my fellow group members very soon. Talk to ya soon.