Read 'n' Seed 2: First Quarter of "Silent Snow"

I have been reading the book Silent Snow by Marla Cone. So far I have read the introduction and the first three chapters, leaving me at page 53.  The introduction went into detail about the author's experience in the Arctic while researching the book. She described many villages and native Inuits she encountered.  It described the blistering cold she faced and some of the local cuisine she ate, such as seal and whale blubber. The first chapter was short and gave some background on how contaminents from anywhere reach the arctic in a matter of years or decades.  This chapter also described some of the more commin toxins that are being found in the arctic. The next two chapters went into lengthy detail on scientists research on the contamination level of arctic animals and Inuit people. 

These first few chapters were very eye opening for me. I learned lots of new things related to toxins and pollution.  I learned that the most dangerous compounds are known as polychlorinated biphenyls, most commonly reffered to as PCBs.  During the middle of the 20th century these compounds were used in mass quanities by electric companies.  By the late 1970's these compounds were banned in the U.S. and much of the world. I also became familiar with many other toxic compounds such as: DDT, mirex, dieldrin, and chlordane.  It was interesting to read that besides the arctic other dangerously polluted areas in the world were north seas in Europe and the Great Lakes.

What I have read so far could affect society greatly. It talked a lot about the effects on humans after consuming animals, mainly seafood, that have pollutants in them. It depends on the food chain, small algae contain dangerous compounds that sit on the bottom of the sea, then they are eaten by tiny fish, then those are eaten by bigger fish, until eventually humans eat the fish containing high levels of compounds. The book also went into detail about a study done in northern Europe on a population of pregnant women that ingested small levels of mercury from their food source. Their children were studied at 7 years old and showed many signs of affected by the mercury on physical and cognitive levels. People should care about this because it is happening in all parts of the world not just the arctic such as Europe, Alaska, California, Great Lakes.  According to what I have read so far there hasn't been much detail about what should be done to address it, just know it is happening is a start.  Since the fact that this whole dilema was underway  in the 1940's, detected in the early 1970's, and ignored until the 1980's. Scientists didn't think it matter much what was happening way up in the arctic circle.

Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

My SMART goal was to walk to school and work at least five times a week.  The first week went real well and I accomplished my goal by walking to school twice and to work three times. 

I have to admit it was kind of difficult to force myself to walk to school early in the morning and even just to work.  But by the end of the week that hesitation stopped and it feels like routine now to walk.  So I faced sort of a initial challenge to implement my goal but overcome it with little trouble.  I felt relaxed and accomplished while walking.  It was nice to have 15 minutes or so to myself while walking just to gather my thoughts.

I learned this week that there might be a little speed bump at the begining when trying to make a lifestyle chnage but once you make it over that there is no regrets or turning back.  My plan for next week is to leave my SMART goal as it is. I was able to achieve it the first week, so I don't need to make it more achievable and I don't think it is quite the time yet to make my goal more challenging.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by http://ecochicwithamy.blogspot.com/.

Eye Opener: CSPI

I chose to take a tour of the food I eat for this weeks eye opener.  This was a very informational exercise and at times very disturbing.  It presented facts of the processes foods go through, from the slaughterhouse, to the fields, to factories, all the way to restaurants and grocery stores.

The slaughterhouse section was one of the more disturbing sections. It talked about all the bacteria around from animal remains and diseases they can cause.  A troubling stat was last year 9 billion chickens and turkeys were killed for dinner-table-consumption, thats 30 birds for every American!  Another one is that the average american consumes 53 more pounds of poultry PER YEAR than he/she did in the early 1950s.  Just reading about the ways farm animals are treated sounds inhumane. 

This activity has definitely opened my eyes to the brutal world of meat and how it is prepared, even some troubling facts about pesticides and fertilizer. I am for sure going to think twice about buying or ordering certain foods form now on, just in the back of my head wondering where it really came from or went through. I now have a new large respect for vegetarians.