Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Tackling Transportation: Sarah

Sarah asked us to use Google Transit to find three places we go to a lot. I put in the directions for those places to get alternate routes by either walking or the bus.

I looked at School, Work, and the Grocery store. To get to those places I usually walk or get a ride with a friend. Since I always walk to school and work I did not put them into google transit. I did look up the route for the grocery store. It will take me a total of 8 minutes to get the number 12 bus to take me to the grocery store. I will definitely try to take the bus next time, because it is an easy change to make and hardly takes any time at all.


Occupational Hazard Crossword: Samantha

Sam made a cross word puzzle for us to do. We had to search for the answers.
Answers for crossword:

Across: Down:
3. lead 1. inhalation
5. blood 2. decades
6. symptoms 4. wash
7. work

What surprised me the most was that lead can stay in your bones for decades. I also did my advocacy project on lead, so I already knew all of these answers and did not have to go searching for them, but I still really enjoyed doing the crossword puzzle.

The Effects of Smoking: Kristy

Kristy had a few fact sheets for us to read. After we read them she had us take a survey that she created on Survey Monkey.

I thought this was a really good way to learn the information because it was like studying for a test!

Water Vocabulary Match: Calista

Callie created a memory game about water infrastructure. We had to match the definitions to the word. I thought this was a fun activity to do. It also helped me learn a bunch of new definitions.

Understanding Emissions: Adam

Provided fact sheets about emissions and air pollutants. He also had us calculate the amount of emissions we create. I was very happy to see the after calculating my emissions my total annual pollution from road transport was better than average.

Three things I learned from the fact sheets are:
1. Emissions from cars are the greatest when engines are cold.
2. Maintaining vehicle property is the best way to reduce emissions of pollutants. Dirty air filters, broken air pump and a stuck choke all increase emissions of carbon monoxide.
3. Lung functions of healthy people were limited when they exercised in the presence of smog.

Breathe-Freeville Mystery: Sonny

Sonny created a detective game. The town of Breathe-Freeville was getting sick and we had to look at a suspect she provided and answer the questions.
1. Suspect: PM2.5 or PM Fine
2. Crime: Particles travel deep into the lungs and cause respiratory damage. Also can cause damage to the hear and cause cancer
3. Cause: PM Fine comes from burning fuel in powerplants, factories, cars and trucks. It also can come from the dust off of roads, fields and construction sites.
4. Lock'em Up:To help reduce PM Fine or to not get sick from it, avoid strenuous activity where PM Fine levels are high. There are also programs that put a cap on emissions from powerplants. You can also find out if your area is a non-attainment area which means that it doesn't meet the EPA national standards for air quality.
5. Case File: From this activity I learned what PM Fine is; I have never even heard of it before. I learned that it comes from emissions and can cause a lot of damage to the lungs.

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

For my Read'n'Seed I read about paper and plastic bags so I wanted to show some pictures of bags. I also wanted to show some changes that are being made to lessen the waste.





















I took some pictures of people using a bunch of plastic bags at the grocery store. Some are kinda far away because I was trying to be discreet.















I also took some pictures of the plastic bags we had in my house.


















At my house, plastic bags are kept in the hanging thing (I don't know the name for it) usually until they are used for something that is thrown away. So we don't recycle plastic bags at my house.





















I did notice many different ways some places are trying to be more green with their bags. Some places have recycling for plastic bags and sell reusable bags.




















I took a picture of my family using reusable bags shopping. However, I didn't see anyone else using reusable bags.

Plastic and paper bags are a big environmental concern. People are starting to take little steps to use eco-friendly bags. Reusable bags are being sold at many places now, however I still hardly see anyone using them. I hope more people recycle paper and plastic bags if they don't have reusable ones.

Eye Opener: Junk on the Brain

Part 1:

Antiques: "In the tradition, fashion, or style of an earlier period; old fashioned."
Junk:"An old or discarded material, as metal, paper,or rags."
Flea Market:"A market, often outdoors, consisting of a number of individual stalls selling old or used articles, curios and antiques, cut-rate merchandise,etc."
Thrift Shop:"a retail store that sells secondhand goods at reduced prices."
Upcycling:"The process of converting an industrial nutrient into something of similar or greater value, in it's second life."
Resale Shop:"The selling again something purchased."

Part 2:

The above terms are all about reusing products and giving stuff that other people don't want a second life. The terms are about making someone else's junk your own treasure. It's about reusing things that might have otherwise just been put in the trash and wasted. All these terms are ways in which we can save and limit waste;thus improving environmental health.

Local Resources:
Antiques:
Old Town Antiques and Books
102 E Superior St. Duluth,MN
(218)-722-5426
This store doesn't have a website, so the link will just tell you where it's located.

Junk:
Jadco Special Haulers Inc
4011 Rehbein Rd, Duluth, MN
(218)-724-5538.

Flea Market:
The only flea market I could find was Studebaker Drivers Club Swap Meet Flea Market and Classic Car show
Lake Superior College, 2101 Trinity Road Duluth MN

Resale Shop:
Plato's Closet
5115 Burning Tree Road, Duluth MN
(218)-733-9495

Upcycling:I could not find anything on Upcycling in or by Duluth.

Thrift Shop:
Salvation Army
215 South 27th Avenue West
Duluth, MN
218-722-7934

I have used many of these. I used to work at a resale shop in high school. I worked at Once Upon a Child which is the same thing as Plato's Closet but it's for little kids. I always bring old clothes and items to goodwill when I don't want or need them anymore. I do this because I don't like to just throw away stuff that's still usable. It seems like a waste. I go shopping in antique stores a lot because I LOVE antiques. I also occasionally going thrift store shopping. I love when you find something nice for so cheap! I don't really go to flea markets because I guess I never really know where one is.

Part 3:

Tag Maker Tote: I think this is such a neat idea! An old Film case made into storage!


Junk Picture Frame: I really like the antique look of using old barn windows as picture frames!


Vintage Redesign Jewelry: This is by far my favorite. Using an optical lens for a necklace and putting something meaningful to read on it is genius. I really want to make something similar to this now!

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

I went to the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and searched their database for a makeup product I use. It was really interesting to see what different products were rated at. The rating scale was 0-2 low hazard, 3-6 moderate hazard, and 7-10 high hazard.

The product I looked up was bareMinerals Foundation Fair. The rating for this was a 7! I was very surprised by this because I thought this companies products wouldn't be so bad. It said that ingredients in this product are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies, and a few other hazards. The ingredients in it that seem to cause the most hazards are Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide.

After seeing these results, I'm glad that I don't actually use that foundation very much. It was interesting to look up products and see what rating it has. Some brands had lower hazards overall than others. Products always have the ingredients on the back, but I usually don't really know what any of them are. It is nice but a little scary to find out what the ingredients actually are and what harm they could potentially cause.

Eye Opener:CSPI

I took the Tour of the Food Supply and was saddened by what I read. Animals are treated inhumanly in slaughterhouses. They live in horrible conditions. Even those in the feed lot are treating bad. They sometimes are so crowded that they are forced to live in their own manure. "Livestock manure is the source of disease causing bacteria on fruits and vegetables"! Their manure also produces airborne pollutants and runs in the water.
There are 5,000 deaths a year that are caused by food-borne illnesses. It's shocking to learn that the meat you buy at the store, was probably fed with trash and the feed that they did eat was full of fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizer factories also pollute the air with chemicals. It seems that everything that is done to produce meat for us to eat is inhumane and causes a lot of pollution.

It's really amazing to read how animals are treated before slaughter and what all the chemicals used in pesticides and fertilizer do to the air. When I shop for meat I don't really think about where it's been or whats been on it. It's sad that the priority for all these business's is efficiency and not the health of the animals or even the people who will be eating whatever chemicals or antibiotics these animals are given. This activity will make me think twice about whatever meat I buy.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

I completed the Ecological Footprint quiz and was really shocked at what I learned. It showed me that if everyone lived like I do, we'd need 4.2 Earths do provide enough resources for everyone! That's a big shocker! It takes 18.6 global acres of the Earth's productive area to support my lifestyle; that's 18.8 tons of carbon dioxide that would need to be produced. Services have the most impact on my ecological footprint at 48%, then it's Food at 21%, Goods at 15%,shelter at 11%, and Mobility at 4%. Those percents show how much of each I demand out of the earth. It's amazing to think about how much of the Earth's resources we (as in the whole world) are using and not really even thinking about it.

I looked at how I could change my ecological footprint and learned some really interesting facts. If every American purchased products that used less packaging or were made out of 100% post consumer recycled content material, we'd use 645 million fewer global acres. That's an area that would cover about 484 million football fields! By eating less animal products, carpooling and buying more recycled products I could change how many global acres I use on this earth. Those are three things I'm going to try to do more to bring down my ecological footprint.

Welcome to Treeific Time with Alyssa!

My name is Alyssa and I am a Junior majoring in Health Education (Community). I love spending time outdoors; especially hiking in the woods surrounded by trees. The picture on the left is from a hike I took this summer. I hope you enjoy the environment too because this blog is going to be all about Environmental Health.

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

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

If you notice at the bottom of this post,the categories will be listed as labels. This post has been labeled with all 5 kinds of posts.You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.

The members of my web group are:

1. Samantha @ Samantha: Green with Envi
   
2. Adam @ Adams Outdoor Connection
   
3. Emily @ Eco-Quest with Emily
   
4. Kristen @ Kristens Coral Reef
   
5. Katie @ Through Green Eyes with Katie
   
6. Carly @ Go Blue too with Carly
   

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."

Have a Treeific Time reading! I hope you can learn something new about Environmental Health from this blog and start taking steps to make this world a healthier place!