Read 'n' Seed 3: Second Quarter of Silent Snow

I have been reading the book Silent Snow by Marla Cone. This quarter of the book consisted of chapters 4-7, covering pages 53-127. This portion of the book mainly focused on the daily lives of the Inuit people, mostly in Greenland, and the far north of Canada and Europe. To say the least, learning how these people live was very eye opening. People in these areas, especially Greenland, have never seen cows, pigs, chickens, deer, squirrels, almost any wild animal you typically see in America, also they've never seen any grains, crops, or anything agricultural. In Greenland they have never even seen grass, which makes me wonder why it is called GREENland. So they must use the ocean waters as their primary cultivation of food. 

Through these chapters the reader followed several different families on their strenuous and often long hunting trips. It blew my mind that they hunt whales when they can. They go out in a handmade canoe with a spear to hunt sometimes 70 foot whales weighing several tons! It also went into detail what the Inuits think of Americans, and that was very suprising as well. One of them was under the impression that all we eat is KFC and Burger King. I guess that is what the world thinks of us. He also responded harshly to Americans "Save The Whales Campaign." Saying they have no other choice and must eat what is available. Another strong point he said was how the Inuits respect the animals they eat. They give the animals a chance to survive and defend themselves while hunting, saying it is a true sport. Then he critisized Americans how they treat chickens and cows, saying they are kept in cages and their sole purpose in life is to get as big as possible then get eaten by Americans. It was also said these people have been told about the contaminants in their food, but they feel their people have been doing it for so long and nothing has happened, so they just brush it off.

Reading how these people live their lives and how they feel about Americans really made me think about the American society. Especially what was said about the food we eat and how we eat. Also, how many countries are protesting about Inuits hunting whales, seals, walruses, polar bears, and other artctic animals. And it is simply true, that is what they have available so they must. Their diet is very nutrient dense, the fat they consume is highly nutritious compared to what Americans eat.  Some of the larger towns could purchase imported processed foods at super markets but at a unbelieveable high cost. And the other small villages simply have no choice. I look forward to learning more about these communities and hopefully more about the pollution they are experiencing.

Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

My SMART goal was to talk to school and work at least 5 times a week. I did good this week and surpassed my goal, making the walk 6 times.  I was a little worried this week about achieving my goal, but luckily the weather played along for the most part.

A new challenge I had this week was not leaving soon enough. It seemed like I was running late almost every time. In the upcoming weeks I'll have to make sure to learn to leave extra early to make sure I'm not late to classes. Still I am kind of worried for when the weather dips under freezing. But I guess only time will tell. A success I have had, or I don't know what to call it, but now I am totally in the routine of walking places I don't even think about driving. 

One feeling particular I remember feeling on a few of my walks was frustration. Walking around town you really get to see how much litter there is on the streets. There is garbage all over town. Other than that, I mostly felt satisfied with myself by doing what the commercials say, grooving my body at least 10 minutes a day. For the next week, I am going to keep my goal the same. I don't feel it is time to tweek it in any way yet.

blogged for the Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by http://ecochicwithamy.blogspot.com/.

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

For this week's eye opener exercise we were instructed to visit the Environmental Working Group web site. This site contains a database where anyone can look up any cosmetic item you use and find out the real safety of that product. I chose to look up the information on Aveeno clear complexion daily moisturizer that I use.  I was kind of nervous of the results before I even saw them, but they weren't as bad as I had thought.  This moisturizer is labeled as a moderate hazard, scoring a 6 on a 1-10 scale.  The results showed that this product has been linked to violation, restrictions, and warnings, allergies/immunotoxicity, and several ingrediants showed concerns.  It also had an option on the sidebar to buy a different product online, saying that 77% of acne treatments have lower concerns.  That figure was kind of startling. I looked through the list of dangerous ingrediants and will be aware of their danger in the future.

Once again this activity was very eye-opening. I don't feel like I am in danger from the results on the moisturizer though, but it does make me wonder if I use any other products that could score a higher hazard. It is crazy to me that companies can sell products that are a hazard to the customers, even a moderate hazard!