Reflection: Weeks 15 &16

Week 15:

During this week was one of the worst weeks of my life! I was unable to attend class due to that I was in the hospital because of an cyst on left ovary bursting. It was one of the worst pains in my life and I had my appendix taken out too. I was really happy to receive flowers and a card from my thoughtful classmates in Environmental Issues! I would just like to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness because it really meant a lot to me and it really did brighten my day and just to let you all know "I am back jumping around now.", so THANK YOU! 

I was really bummed too that I miss class because Sue Whitney was coming to talk about junking and Lauren and I had put our heads together and created a pretty cool glass tree ( I really wanted to see what Sue and Dr. V thought of it). I also did a post on an environmental online learning activity that was linked to my advocacy project on  safe water access. I put some good work into finding something that was for the age group that it was for and something that had to do with water but I managed to find some pretty cool ones.

Week 16:

This week I did an eye opener on my group members online learning activity. It was really cool to see what everyone else did for activity and some of them were really cool and others were gross but good. Great job to everyone and we all made it to the last week of class...yeah now what...no more blogging, I think not I plan on to still post blogs during the summer just for fun just to see if anyone will reply to them so when you have nothing to do check my blog out! I am going to miss you all, I will have to come to class just for fun!

Good luck on finals and Good luck with the rest of your college lives!!

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14

Week 13:

During this week we watched the movie the "Story of Stuff", which was about the process that everything goes through that we use as consumers. It was a pretty big eye opener to see how items are made to just last a short amount of time just so that we go out and buy more. I can see this to be so true because I have had to buy a DVD player 2x in the last 2 years because the they just kept breaking.

We also had a nice adventure in Bagley, where we got to learn how to properly use a compass. It was pretty cool to get a chance to be outdoors and learn some useful information that we can possible use later in life!

Week 14:

During this week we had a guest speaker come in from the Civic Engagement office at UMD to talk about his experiences with environment. He also talked about some other opportunities for after college. It was really good to hear about his experiences and gave some of us other choices when graduating.

We also completed our advocacy project by writing our letter to elected officials or editors. This really made me open my eyes on how significant it is to do something by advocating it to some one that can do something about it. I do have say too that we all did pretty good on it!!

We also did a junking activity in class and it was pretty funny to see what we all came up with. In this activity we were all in our groups and were given an object that and we were suppose to come up with a different purpose for it. After doing this active I got some good ideas and I think I could take this up as a hobby. I can't wait to see what Sue Whitney has in store for us.

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection: Weeks 11 & 12

Week 11:

During this week we watched a documentary "Unnatural Causes." It was about how socioeconomic status may be one of the largest determinants of health. This documentary showed the big differences of socioeconomic statuses between the rich and the poor. It was very good to see how those with a higher economic status was healthier and those with a low economic status were not as healthy. We also did a post on our advocacy project that involved us picking a environmental related objective from Healthy People 2010 and research the progress that it has made.

Week 12:

During this week we did Reading 20 which talked about how the ozone layer will "fix itself" in the next three years. I really don't know how useful this information really is because it was published in 2002 and the people that published it is a christian group as well. We all got to see Dr.V favorite thing in the world to do (junking) which is where you just take things and remake it for another use! It was really good to see some ideas and in this economy.

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection: Weeks 9 & 10

Week 9

On Tuesday we had a  discussion about advocacy. We learned what advocacy is, how one can be an advocate, and broke down some common misconceptions about it. I even learned that you don't have to be a person shouting out your cause, you can just be a support that no one may ever see.

On Thursday we had a discussion on photography and the concept of Photo Voice. We also learned some photography skills that would be basic skills but to me they were new ones! I thought it was good to go over some of these skills to help us out in our photo essay even though I don't have such a great camera, but still very useful information that I will carry with me when I am taking pictures!

We also did a blog post that included our local political representatives with their contact information, political affiliation, and websites. I thought it was good to do even though I am not very political. Now I know who to go to if I want something done around here in Duluth!

Week 10

There was no class...but I had class outside the classroom by attending the AAHPERD convention in Tampa, Florida. I learned so much more than any classroom lesson could have ever taught me. I got to network with some people from other colleges and some that could be some potential grad schools for myself. I even found a grad student that was doing the same study that I am doing in Methods which was really crazy because we were having the same findings even though we are so far apart! I am really glad that I got to go to this convention and experience everything there that I did! I would highly recommend other students that did not go this year to start saving now so that you can attend next year! Also start doing some grant writing too to get some help as well because it is some good to know how to do as well as a good experience to put down on a resume!

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflections: Weeks 7&8

Week 7:

We read "Ill Winds The Chemical Plant Next Door" which is about a chemical plant (Borden) and its effects on the small town that it is in (Buffalo). Borden has been accused of dumping illegal amounts of toxins into the water, which had some major effects on the families that lived there. The article left us wondering if the chemical plant was the major cause of the people developing cancers. In my own personal opinion I truly do think that it does has some effect with the residents developing cancers. We also watched the documentary "Green" which was made by a student named Laura Dunn. The video was a big eye opener to the issue about the 100 mile stretch of the Mississippi River in Louisiana called "Cancer Alley". Cancer Alley has a huge trend of cancer among the residents. This video really opened my eyes to what the chemical plants are really doing to the environment and the surrounding communities! We also did an Eye opener: Environmental Working Group. In this eye opener we went to the Environmental Working Groups database where we got to pick one of the cosmetic that we use everyday and found out how dangerous they really are to the environment and to us as well. I picked the face wash that  I did used but now I don't after what I found out about it!! I am still in search of the perfect face wash that is environmentally friendly and one that will not react to my super sensitive skin.

Week 8:

We read Privatizing Water which was about the riots in Cochabamba, Bolivia where hundreds were injured and one killed  over the water privatization. After reading this it really made me think of how lucky I really am to have water and to not take it for granted, which most of us Americans do. We also watched the documentary "Thirst" which was also on water privatization. The film showed us how other countries are dealing with the water issues and how some are preserving. In the video the mayor of Stockton, California is planning on signing their water to be run by a private sector which really made the citizens mad due to the fact they had no say in it what so ever. We were unable to finish the video due it not working but I can only imagine how it finished in the end! The person with the power always seems to win...

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection: Weeks 5 & 6

Overview of the Past Two Weeks:

In the past two weeks we watched documentaries called "Diet for a New America" and "Future of Food." These two documentaries were both big eye openers for me and the rest of the class as well. Diet for a New America was about the foods that we eat and how it effects our bodies as well as the environment. This really opened my eyes to what I am really eating and its effects on the environment. Future of Food was about the Genetically Modified and its effect on the farmers and the whole nation. We also did an Eye Opener: CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest). In this eye opener we chose a assessment that calculated the food we ate and its effect on the environment. We also did an Eye Opener on an different reading assignments that was assigned to us.

What I have learned about myself:

When I watched the documentary "Diet for a New America" I was shocked to learn about they really effects on the food that us as Americans eat. It really made me look at what I eat everyday. I really don't eat that much meat in my diet but the documentary made me realize that we are all about meat in our meals. I also realized that I love my dairy way too much to give it up. But I am slowly watching my intake on it and making small changes on my diet.

What I have learned about the Environment:

I have learned that what I eat impacts the environment in ways that I never thought of before. For example I did not really think that eating meat and any animal product had that much impact on the environment. There is always something I can do to improve on my impact on the environment and I am little by little making those changes.

What I have learned about blogging:

I have learned that it takes some work to keep up with my blogging but I am getting better at it. I do like the fact that we are not using so much paper which is helping out the environment!! I think we all are doing a good job with our blogging!!

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection of Week 3 & 4

Week 3:

During this week our class read "The Challenges We Face." This chapter talked about all the shortages we are currently facing with our natural resources, which was kind of shocking for me in a way.  We also read "Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on Film." This article talked about how even documentaries on the "natural" environments are manipulated so that it will be more appealing to the views' eyes. It really made me think of how much media plays a role in Americans' lives. Our class also started to watch "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore.

Week 4:

During this week our class continued to watch "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore. In this famous movie Al Gore broke down everything there is to know about global warming and its effects. He made it really clear of what could happen if nothing is done to stop global warming. He supported everything with scientific data which made him see more creditable and believable.

Yourself:

In the past two weeks I have learned that I might need little help with remembering with what is due and well thats ok with me. Thats why Abbey and I started a blogging party on Tues. to help each other and to remind each other on what is due and give help when needed. I have also learned that I need to work on being more eco-friendly by buying more local foods and fresh food also well. I have also learned that I have some pretty awesome classmates and friends that are always there to give a helping hand when needed. So Thank you everyone for helping a fellow classmate and friend when I really needed it!

Environment:

In the past two weeks I have learned so much more about the environment from watching the video "An Inconvenient Truth."  I would recommend everyone to watch this video because it really goes into depth about global warming and the affects of it too. It was an eye opener for me to see the true effects of global warming.

Blogging:

I am now seeing some cool things that I can do with my blogging page... and I am definitely going to add some of them at the next blogging party!! I really can't wait because blogging has now become the "new facebook" in my life!

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Reflection of 1 & 2 Week

Week 1:

During the first week of class we did a fun active that involved the class working as a team. The active was called "Star Wars".  Star Wars was not like the movie either, it involved several circles that were different sizes and everyone in the class had to have their feet in the circle at all times until instructed to move to another circle. At first it was really easy to get everyone in the circles then one by one a circle was removed from the group, so it became harder and harder and we got more creative in how to fit everyone in the circles. Then we came down to just one single circle in which the whole class had to fit their feet into...lets just say we fit all of feet into the circle ( I will not give away our secret to it so that you can try it). I really enjoyed this it really showed us that we needed to communicate to get things done and work as a team. Even though we got everyone's feet in, we could have communicated better as a whole. I think we had really good team work overall!

Week 2:

During week 2 our class mostly work on doing our lovely blogs. This had been hard and fun all at the same time. I really can not believe how much I have created in this blog and how cool and somewhat easy it can really be. This has also been kinda addicting too...I have been finding myself at my computer now, which is good and bad at the same time. I really think that doing this type of work online is very creative and eco-smart as well because we are not using any paper at all!! This has really opened my eyes to other ways to be eco-friendly/smart. By the way everyone I love your blogs they are looking really awesome! 

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit

Introduction:

Welcome to Ingrid's Al Fresco!

My name is Ingrid Kezar and I am a Community Health Education major at UMD. This blog is going to be a place where I and my fellow classmates will be able to talk about a wide rage of environmental health issues.

There are 5 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Reviews
5. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. (Use the "label actions" feature in the edit posts tab to add the labels.) You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. (Place labels gadget below blog header but above blog text). All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.

The members of my web group are: 

1. Katie @ Katie Kares 4 Environment
2. Sara J. @ A Leaf of Sara's Life
3. Abbey @ Abbey E's Environmental Endeavors
4. Ben @ Ben's Virtual Ecosystem
5. Autumn @ Autumn's Atmosphere

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." 

I am excited to get this blog going! I hope you have enjoyed your stop here in Ingrid's Al Fresco and I hope you come back real soon!

"It's not easy to be Green."-Kermit