Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Abbey’s Activity

The ecological footprint activity was so entertaining! I think that this website did a WONDERFUL job of teaching kids to be green in a really open, and simple learning environment.  Also of the three links you provided, I liked the website that showed users how to make a school greener the most.  I think that having knowledge about what our schools can do to make their facilities more environmentally friendly helps the citizens of those school systems advocate for change.  Both the second and third website also talked about environmental health as a whole, and health for children.  I think it is important to consider that all forms of health are interrelated and dependent on one another.  Good find Abbey, very educational activity!!

Autumn’s Activity

I thought this activity was super fun!  If I were a kid, I think I would spend the whole day playing this game.  Fun fact about Sara J: I am very bad at holding onto plates!!  Having information on the side after you pick your foods was very helpful.  It does a great job of explaining to game users exactly why choosing the foods they did was right/wrong, and gives options to make healthier choices next time.  I think educational activities such as this can help kids learn that nutrition can be fun, and is extremely important.  Integrating interactive activities such as this one in the elementary classroom could be very influential.  Good find Autumn! 

Ben’s Activity

I thought this activity was very interesting, Ben.  Right from the start it got me interested because it allowed me to build a home in the climate that I want.  I don’t think it would have been as effective if the activity didn’t consider the different terrains of our nation.  One thing that I found to be not only interesting, but enlightening was that the “green options” weren’t always the most expensive ones!!  For example, although gas heat was cheapest, wind energy wasn’t the most expensive option.  I think that building greener homes is a wonderful idea and that websites such as this can help people get into the swing of thinking greener.  

Katie’s Activity

I thought that this activity could be very appealing to kids.  The way this website portrays nutrition is really interesting, and I loved the little educational pop-ups to help kids learn about nutrition while they are having fun!  I think that it is important to find fun and interesting ways to teach kids about every topic, and this one definitely does the job for teaching children about healthy food choices and nutrition.  Hopefully if this activity is used in the schools like you suggested Katie, the teachers would find a way to add in information about how eating healthy can prevent many other health problems as children grow older.  Very good find Katie, I think this was my favorite activity!    

Ingrid’s Activity

I thought this activity was the most educational and informational activity that I have done.  Although it wasn’t kid-friendly and fun like the other ones (and wasn't supposed to be), it was super interesting to learn about how I am affecting the water supply on this earth.  I liked how the questions addressed all areas of the home, and after calculating my score  (which by the way was 75 gallons per week) I learned of very specific ways to reduce my water usage.  For example I could save 13 gallons a day just by taking a shower that is 1 minute shorter.  I could also save 17 gallons per day if I only used low-flow toilets.  Of course I can’t control the toilets that UMD has, but its good information to have for when I build my eco-friendly house that Ben helped me find!!!   Good job Ingrid, this water calculator activity was very cool!

Eye Opener 5: Photo Voice Essay

What is it with the disconnect between the natural environment and the man-made environment?  Think about it: as children we are told exactly how to talk, act, and even eat due to the man-made environment which includes media (advertising), buildings, roads, etc. We rarely learn from the natural environment. 

While I was in Colorado, one of the ritziest malls in the state, Cherry Creek Shopping Center located in Denver has a brand new play-land for children.  What is the play-land made out of? Breakfast foods.  But not fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads for breakfast; just some fat, oil, meat, produce and sugar... Are these young children learning to eat from the natural enviornment, or from the man-made environment?

Right next to the play-land is an advertising kiosk for HealthONE related to heart health for adults.  Below is a picture of the display within the kiosk.  Once again, if children see this, how do they learn with such a disconnect? Is heart disease just as fun as that play-land 20 feet away?

Advertising and food--another huge problem.  Kids these days see other children their age all of the time advertising foods.  What sorts of foods are their peers advertising? Artichokes or Kraft Mac and Cheese? Which one looks like more fun to you if you're a four year old?

What about bananas or Pop-Tarts?  One is natural, one is man-made.  Are children learning how to differentiate between the two, or are they only being given one side of the story?

In class when we  discussed how hard it would be to give up our "normal diets" of meat, cheese, eggs, dairy etc. after learning from reliable sources not to consume such foods, we established that we partially eat the way we do because we grew up knowing nothing else.  Why would it be so hard to phase our "normal" diet out?  Because we enjoy the food so much, or because as children we played in breakfastland and saw kids just like us all over TV and the magazines having fun with man-made foods?? I would have to say before any of us were even educated about what the environment can give to us nutritionally, we were taught to abuse it.  We supported the petrochemical industry, the breaking down of the ozone layer, global warming and the over full land-fills looooong before we even knew what we were doing.  

So, once again with the disconnect. Evaluate yourself, why do you eat the way you do?  Do you have enough time to maybe start over and learn about the natural environment before you feast off of the man-made one?

Eye Opener 4: Environmental Working Group

Summary of the Eye-Opener

The Skin Deep website is brought to us by the Environmental Working Group, and is  a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products.  Skin Deep is a nonprofit organization and is the largest integrated data resource of its kind.  They simply keep this website up and running for one reason: because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their own products for safety. Therefore, the researchers at Environmental Working Group do it for them. 

The Environmental working Group uses the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.  EWG is also a nonprofit organization that advocates for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.  

My Results

I chose to search Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner Always Smooth.  This is the shampoo I have used for about 7 years.  I don't use conditioner, so I thought this would be a really good product to search since it is something I use everyday, and have been using for an extended amount of time.  

The Pantene Pro-V product I use seems to have lots of concerns according to Skin Deep. It got a score of 5, which means that it is a moderate hazard since the scale goes to 10.  I learned that 41% of conditioners and 49% of shampoos have lower concerns. Ingredients in Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner have been linked to:

1. cancer
2. developmental/reproductive toxicity
3. violations, restrictions & warnings
4. allergies/immunotoxicity
5. other concerns such as: neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation, enhanced skin absorption, and contamination concerns. (To name a few...)

The manufacturer of this product Proctor & Gamble has not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, and they also conduct animal testing. Knowing this information tells me that they haven't yet jumped on the bandwagon of making their products "green" and making them safer.  

Some other information I found on this website is that 92% of the ingredients in my shampoo have no data about them or have a high level of uncertainty.  92% of the ingredients have not been reviewed by the FDA, and 42% do not have any industry review.  Finally, 3% of the ingredients are labeled as 'high hazard". Talk about scary...

My Opened Eyes

The website gave me TONS of information regarding Pantene Pro-V 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner; in fact, so much information that I didn't even summarize it all on this blog.  I guess what is of main concern to me is the fact that there are so many other products out there that are less risky.  It is hard for me to take in all of the information and decide what is important and what isn't.  To me, its all important enough to know, but not important enough to change the shampoo I have been using since middle school.  However, since 49% of the products out there are better for me than this one, I feel like I have been motivated to make a change.  I think that next time I am at the store I will buy something different.  Recently I have been considering switching to Dove Products anyways because of their AMAZING campaign for real beauty. I thought this was a really good activity to do, it has helped me so see exactly what I am doing to myself and to the environment by the products I am choosing to use.  

Eye Opener 3: Summary of Reading 5: The Most Important Fish in the Sea

Summary of the Article 

Menhaden are a small, herring-like fish found on the Atlantic coast (McKinney 19).  They are not fished to be eaten by humans, but are dried, and ground up into a high protein feed for chicken, pigs, and cattle.  Selling for 10 cents/pound at the dock, menhaden are a cheap component in industrial poultry, swine, and livestock feed (McKinney 19).  However, they are one of the most important links in the Atlantic aquatic life food chain.  Many fish humans consume including bass, mackerel, cod, bonito, swordfish, bluefish, and tuna use menhaden as a key dietary component (McKinney 20).  According to industry statistics, the menhaden population has been declining since 1946.  This article discussed the effects of dramatic population decrease in menhaden:  

• Menhaden feed off of phytoplankton, thus controlling the growth of algae in costal waters (McKinney 20). Now, devastating algal blooms are increasing along the Atlantic coast due to the menhaden's filter feeding limitations (McKinney 21).
• Bass feed on menhaden, and after the dramatic decrease of them, bass are forced to feed off of fish with much lower nutritional values.  Therefore, bass are skinnier than ever and are experiencing a loss of muscle as an entire population (McKinney 20). 
• The bass are also experiencing diseases related to bacterial infections caused by Pfiesteria, a toxic form of phytoplankton that appropriate populations of menhaden can control (McKinney 20). 
• Ospreys on Gardiners Island, near the eastern tip of Long Island, New York are dwindling due to the lack of menhaden to feed off of in May, when menhaden schools would typically arrive just in time to feed the osprey nestlings (McKinney 21). 
• The loon count has dropped steadily in Chesapeake Bay from 1989 (McKinney 21). 

Although the problem seems to be out of control, there are a few measures that can be taken to one again increase the menhaden population.  First of all, menhaden spotter planes need to be taken away from the fleet of industrial fishing.  Since WWII, fishermen began using spotter planes and purse seines to find and fish the the menhaden (McKinney 20).  If a quota was put on the number of fish to attain, and fishing were not allowed after December 1st, the menhaden population would flourish.  The problem is that these days, Omega Protein Inc. enjoys a near monopoly fishing for menhaden (McKinney 22).  They currently use spotter planes to find the large schools of fish, where the pilots then radio the coordinates down to purse seines to cast nets and trap all of the fish.  Regulations regarding this type of fishing need to be implemented.  Barney White, the corporate vice president of Omega Protein Inc., denies that menhaden are being overfished, and that there is any type of ecological problem whatsoever caused by their decline (McKinney 22).  However, to what extend does Omega Protein Inc. need menhaden to sustain their sales? National Fisherman (the fishing industries journal) sates that, "where menhaden is processed into feed for poultry and pigs, the demand for fish is depressed by a surplus of soy, which serves the same purpose" (McKinney 22).  Therefore, all of the ground up menhaden could be easily replaced by ground up soybeans.  

This article presented a very strong argument:  regulations of menhaden fishing need to be put into effect immediately.  Overall, I found this article very easy to read, and it provided some great quotes from personnel within the industry.  

Terms To Know

Menhaden: An American marine fish of the Herring family (Brevoortia tyrannus), chiefly valuable for its oil and as a component of fertilizer.

Phytoplankton: Plankton consisting of free-floating algae, protists, and cyanobacteria. Phytoplankton form the beginning of the food chain for aquatic animals and fix large amounts of carbon, which would otherwise be released as carbon dioxide

Pfiesteria: a genus of dinoflagellates including one (Pfiesteriapiscicida) found in waters especially along the middle and southern Atlantic coast of the U.S. that produces a toxin which causes skin lesions in fish, that feeds upon the lesions sometimes causinglarge fish die-offs, and that may cause symptoms (as skin lesions and memory loss) in humans exposed to the toxin

Online Sources

1. Menhaden Matter is a collection of organizations that are concerned with the conservation of Menhaden and dedicated to protecting the ecological role of Menhaden in Chesapeake Bay.  The Menhaden Matter alliance is NOT looking to shut down the industrial menhaden industry, they are looking to instigate proactive management of the menhaden industry to improve the future health of the industry and of the Chesapeake Bay.  The alliance is advocating for sufficient conversation matters such as the adoption of proper menhaden harvesting techniques.  These conservation matters include enforcing a quota, and seasonal limitations for fishing.  
2. Friend of the Sea is a non-profit non- governative organization for the conservation of marine habitat by means of the certification and promotion of seafood and products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.  In the category of "Fish Meal", Friend of the Sea has deemed Omega Protein Inc. a certified friend of the sea.  According to Friend of the Sea, Omega Protein Inc. does not overexploit target stocks, their fishing methods do not impact the seabed, and they generate less than average (8%) of discards.  Omega Protein Inc. had to apply for this certification, and were granted the certification.  To view the full report on the certification of Omega Protein Inc.  click here. 

Question For Discussion

While I was reading this article, and doing supplemental research online, I found myself asking the same question over and over.  I would like to now pose the same question for you:

• Would it be possible to require animal feed corporations such as Omega Protien Inc. to use alternative sources of protein for their products? If so, what percentage of their product should be menhaden derived?

Eye Opener 2: CSPI--Score Your Diet

For the second eye opener, I chose to do the "Score Your Diet" activity.  I thought that this was a really great tool to use.  It was a pretty good calculator of your impact on your health, the environment, and animal welfare through your diet.  

I scored the highest on the following three categories:

• fruits (score: 44)
• vegetables (score: 44)
• grains (score: 17)

The reason why I scored so high on these is because I eat plenty of fruits, veggies and grains making it really beneficial to my health.  There is a relatively low impact on the environment from eating these three food products, especially if I am choosing to eat locally grown, or organic.   There was also no effect on animal welfare by eating high amounts of these three products. Therefore, my overall score was still very high.  

I scored the lowest on the following three categories:

• cheese (score: -55)
• Egg Yolks (score: -12)
• Candy, pastries, ice cream (score: -6)

These three products were low for various reasons.  Every diet analysis I do tells me to stop eating so much cheese. SERIOUSLY, I can't help it...it's just so good!!  I don't eat meat, and I don't drink milk, eat yogurt, or fish...I have to eat cheese.  At any rate, according to the website, it is a little bit bad for animal welfare, its worse for the environment, and it is the worst for my health.  Oops. I guess it is time to work on the cheese addiction.  The egg yolks was low because eggs are the only poultry I eat. I eat about 3 hard-boiled eggs each week and I always have an omelette or some scrambled eggs thrown in my diet.  This was the worst for animal welfare, not so much on the environment or my health.  I think that  I will continue to eat the same amount of eggs because let's be honest-- I need to get my protein somehow, and obviously I don't eat meat, or enough beans to do so.  The candy, pastries and ice cream category is only a problem with the third clause: ICE CREAM!  Literally, if a man buys me ice cream he has my heart.  I don't need diamonds or flowers...just a big ol' bucket of bunny tracks and I am totally satisfied!!

What will I change?

After all things are taken into consideration, I have decided to change three things.  

• Of all the vegetables, fruits, and grains I eat, I will make an effort to buy more locally grown and organic.  This will be less detrimental to the environment.   I will also try to buy fresh, and not frozen as often, this will help enhance my health.
• I will TRY to eat less cheese, and even if i don't succeed at it, I will try to be more aware.  Maybe I could try and eat low-fat cheese to better my own health??
• I will work on not eating as much ice cream as I currently do.  It is important to both my health, the environment, and animal welfare.  I would say that this will be the hardest change to make.  Although I won't remove it from my diet completely, I need to start caring more about the environment while eating it, and less about my emotional satisfaction!! =)

Summary

This tool was very useful, and it was a great starting point for analyzing the effects of your diet on yourself, the environment and on animals.  I have had the opportunity to learn how I am helping, and how I am hurting myself, the environment and animals through my eating habits.  I really enjoyed how everything was given an numeric value, and it was so simple to calculate.  Although there are much more sophisticated instruments that can be used, this tool was helpful, quick and enlightening. Here is a picture of my results:

Eye Opener 1: My Ecological Footprint

What is an Ecological Footprint?
An ecological footprint is a way to calculate the impact you are making on the earth by measuring how much of the earth's resources your lifestyle uses. Although not all sources are consistent in their ways of measurement, more and more organizations are getting together to create a better way to measure your "footprint". Eventually, all of the measurements will be the same, and the instruments used to calculate your ecological footprint will be consistent--resulting in accurate number. I like to think of it as taking your blood pressure or heart rate, your individual factors may vary affecting the end result, but the measurement and measurement instruments are all the same. To learn more about an ecological footprint and the history of it, visit Wikipedia or Redefining Progress.

Upon visiting the EcoBusiness Links Environmental Directory website, I used three tools to calculate my ecological footprint. I will summarize my findings and reactions to each tool.

Travel Calculator

I chose to do the travel calculator first for one main reason: I TRAVEL ALL OF THE TIME. If I am not flying out to Colorado to see my boyfriend, I am driving 3 hours home and 3 hours back to visit my family on the weekend. This has three different calculators to choose from: the first calculates your pollutant emissions from your journeys, the second calculates the energy you use on your journeys (in calories), and the third is the full annual cost of car ownership.

I chose to measure my pollutant emissions using the first tool. After taking the survey I had a hard time understanding exactly what the scores meant. My personal score was a very detailed list of how many nitrogen oxide, particulates, and carbon dioxide pollutants I emit into the air each week. At the end of the survey, the computer generated score also includes a number of tips you can follow to lower your air pollutants while traveling. I thought the tip tool was the most helpful part of the calculator, especially since majority of people do not understand the acceptable range for pollutant numbers.
Some of the things I could do to lessen my pollution with my traveling would be to carpool to work and social events, to take a form of public transportation home on the weekends, and to fly out of the Duluth airport when I go to CO versus driving 200 miles in my car to get to MSP.

Visit the Travel Calculator link to find your own scores!

EarthDay Footprint Quiz

This quiz helps you to calculate how many planets it would take to support your lifestyle. It mainly focuses on your food, shelter, mobility, goods, and services.
My results were pretty alarming. It would take 4.7 earths to provide enough resources, and 20.7 global acres of the Earth's productive land to support my lifestyle! I couldn't believe that my number was so high. At the end of this quiz, there were also tips you could read to help reduce your ecological footprint.
What I appreciated most about this quiz was how interactive it was. I feel like it gave an incredibly good representation of the environment before me, and then afterwards. As I went through the quiz, an apartment complex added, a gar, pollution, recycling bins...it was really motivational to watch as the pure empty environment became cluttered with my lifestyle objects.
After taking this quiz I have learned a few things. First of all, I tend to have very eco-friendly eating habits. I think that has a lot to do with me not eating any meat (however, I do eat poultry and dairy). I also learned that I fly way too much. At this point I can't really help that because lets be honest, a 2 hour plane ride or a 13 hour drive. There is only so much time in a weekend...
Some things I would like to change would be the amount that I recycle and the amount that I buy home-grown foods. Almost all of my foods are processed, and I never recycle. The most I recycle is using old worksheets and assignments as scratch paper. I can definitely work on both of those.

Carbon Calculator
The final quiz I took calculated how much CO2 pollution I cause by taking flights. According to the CarbonNeutral Company airplanes are one of the fastest growing sources of global warming gases. The good news is that there are ways to make my traveling on airplanes a little "greener". Although there is no way to take a specific "green" airplane, I was able to calculate exactly how much carbon is emitted into the atmosphere each time I fly. Then, after getting my results, the website provided a few service projects that would neutralize my flight. The service projects that were equal to one round trip flight to Colorado were centered around reducing carbon emissions from my other daily life activities. Such things include using a greener form of energy, and recycling certain amounts.
I didn't think this quiz was very helpful. I don't think that by reducing your carbon emission in other areas of your life neutralizes the carbon emissions you emit into the atmosphere by flying frequently. Overall, the quiz did give me some good lifestyle changes to consider making, and has helped me to gain knowledge on the effects of my traveling on the environment.

My Opened Eyes
Obviously my lifestyle is making a huge impact on the environment. Through this exercise I have learned that I can be just as beneficial to the environment as I am detrimental. With all of the little things that I do each day, I can lessen my ecological footprint. I am intrigued by all of the suggestions the quiz/calculator websites provided, however I think I am only seriously considering changing a few things. After this activity, I would mostly like to work on the amount of food I buy locally, buying more fresh and less processed, recycling more often, and using public transportation instead of my own vehicle more often.

Introduction: A Leaf of Sara's Life

Welcome to A Leaf of Sara's Life!!

An environmentally friendly blog by Sara Jandt

Photo (Jan.'09): This picture was taken at the bottom of the Rocky Mountains near Pike's Peak.  The air was so clear and cold, you can see my breath in the picture!

My name is Sara Renae Jandt.  The second 'e' in my middle name usually has an accent, but neither blogger.com or the DMV can publish it accurately.  =)  I am currently a community health education major and am enrolled in an environmental health course.  Although the focus of this blog is in response to Health 3500, I will be spicing it up a bit with my personal stories, pictures and environmental thoughts that I experience, especially when I am in Colorado.  I spent July & August traveling all over the southwest. While I am in school, I go back to Colorado about once a month for a few days at a time.  I hope you enjoy learning about me, my adventures in Colorado, my thoughts on environmental health, and my progress in Health 3500!  

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. 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: (Adjust # of members as necessary.)

1. Ingrid 
2. Ben
3. Abbey
4. Autumn
5. Katie

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 very excited to keep all of you updated via blogging! I hope that you find the time to comment, and visit some of the links that I provide.  Please give me as much feedback as you would like, and to all of the other Health 3500 students...happy blogging!!