Reflections: Weeks 13 & 14 & overall course

Well it is already the end of the semester, the last two weeks have flown by. Now all there is left to do is study for finals and get ready for the holidays.

In week 13 of class there was a fieldtrip to the charitable organization GoodWill. They help provide the less fortunate with things needed in everyday life. There was a tour of the facility followed by a kind of scavenger hunt activity. The next week in class was a show and tell of our junk projects. It was really fun to see what everyone else had been working on. We sure did have some creative folks in class; there were a lot of crafty homemade items to display around the house. I had the idea to somehow fasten a horshoe kind of on its side onto a wall and use it as a coat-rack. I came up with this because I was trying to find something to use as a coat-rack because mine are always thrown onto the couch or onto backs of chairs. My favorite item was a fancy looking blue wine bottle and she drilled a hole in the back and inserted some christmas lights. It was a very neat looking lamp. Then we sat in a circle and discussed things we were taking away from this class.

Overall Course:
When I first signed up for this course I was not sure what to expect at all. And I have to be honest, at first I was kind of nervous about the whole blogging part of the class. I didn't think I would get the hang of it and thought I would get frustrated from it a lot. But after only a few short weeks, I was able to blog no problem. That is a valuable computer skill I'm sure I will use in the future. I really enjoyed the closeness feeling of our small class, and it helped add to that feeling that treats were brought to class every week. That was a very good idea, it was interesting to see what kind of healthy snacks people brought. I also learned an incredible amount about the environment. More importantly things every one can do on a daily basis to help reduce our carbon footprint.  My 2 favorite things about the class would be the eco-chic lifestyle change and the documentaries we watched. The lifestyle change helped me see how easy it is to make a positive change in your life, and the documentaries really opened up my eyes to issues going on around the world that I was unaware of. I liked how every week this class was different; it was never the same and I didn't know what to expect each week.

Thank you Dr. V for making this class very enjoyable and have a nice relaxing break!

Reflection: Weeks 11 & 12

I am reflecting on the last 2 weeks of class, weeks 11 & 12 of the semester. This semester has really flown by and finals are just around the corner. I was ill and could not attend class for week 12, but our class on week 11 was very informative.

We watched a short video called Story of Stuff that was very interesting. The narrator did a very nice job of explaining how things work in a very easy to follow format. She was discussed some very troubling facts about our country. Such as we only account for 5% of the world's population but we are using almost a third of the world's resources.  Also a lot about how we are always sending away problems from the U.S. to more under-developed countries and taking all their resources and polluting their land. There was also a very interesting theory she brought up about how american consumers are brainwashed into spending money always consuming more and more.

We also did a pretty entertaining activity about junking. It was fun to hear all the groups ideas about what to use the items for. There were a lot of really creative ideas and some funny ones too, such as a pet coffin I remember or a very large shot glass. We also did a photo essay project, and I chose to do mine on enivironmentally friendly things going on at my work, St. Luke's Hospital. I enjoyed walking around and taking picutres of this but it also made me think there is more they could be doing around the hospital. Such as install hand blower machines in some of the bathrooms, every bathroom had paper towels.

That is what has been happening to past couple weeks. I look forward to the upcoming weeks, and our trip to the Goodwill!

Reflection: Weeks 9 & 10

Well week 10 of the semester is over and now it's time to reflect over the past 2 weeks of class.

A new project was introduced in class, the advocacy project. So far this consisted of researching who my political leaders are and obtaining their contact information. Then we were to pick a proposed bill and give the progress on how it is doing in the House. The one I chose to look into is about stopping obesity in schools, a very important issue. In researching this, it was startling to see how many children were moving away from the healthy people goal. We also watched a documentary segment called Unatural Causes. This video intorduced us to several people all of different social classes, but living in the same county. It started out showing the family of a wealthy hospital CEO and his lovely neighborhood and all the opportunities available there. It later ended showing an unemployed woman living well under the poverty line. It was just amazing to me to see all the different social classes living so close in the same county. It also caught me by suprise when it showed the lives of one couple who seemed like they were struggling finacially at times, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and they made the same amount of money as the average american does. We also started to talk about the upcoming photo essay project. I have done projects like this in the past and have already begun brainstorming what I should do.

I learned several things over the past 2 weeks of class. I learned just how many different social classes they are and how they can exist close together. I learned what some people in lower social classes must do to get by. And also, I learned that if you feel strongly about a subject that is going on, you can contact your political representatvie; that is what they are there for. I look forward to the upcoming weeks of class. Doing the photo essay and the junking activity this week in class.

Reflection: Week 7 & 8

Like this whole semester, the last two weeks have flown by. In these 2 weeks we have done numerous activities and discussed several topics and I have learned a lot of useful new things.

Topics

One major topic we have been discussing has been the concept of junking. Before we dove into this subject I was kind of unaware what it was. I thought like most people that junk was junk, but when I saw some sculptors and pieces of artwork that people are making from other's trash I was amazed. Seeing this made me want to go hunting for some garage sales, so I could make my own creations. We also watched two documentaries, "Green" and "Thirst." They were both very interesting and presented strong topics, but the thirst film really stuck with me. Just how it said in some places water is being priced higher than milk, and I remember one individual protester said eventually we are going to have to pay gasoline prices for water, that is a very scary thought. I have been in the dark about this whole water privatization phenomenom. The film also followed a small communites efforts to stop this privatixation from happening in their town resulting in a lot of jobs been lost.

What I Learned

I learned a lot about environmental health in the past two weeks. Mostly just about the concept of junking, and how it really is all around already. In Duluth there are many thrift and resale shops, not to mention garage sales. I am for sure going to take advantage of these in the future. I learned that the old saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure" really does hold true. I also learned a lot from the film Thirst, such as to be aware that this is going on and take small steps now that can help the future generations. I didn't learn much else to do with blogging, except I am doing good with it and no new questions have arised from blogging.

Reflection: Weeks 5 & 6

We have done a lot in class over the past two weeks, very educational and intriguing things. It is crazy how fast time is moving this semester. It is already almost the end of October, and we've already had our first snow. Before we know it will be Thanksgiving, then FINALS time!



These two weeks we watched some very interesting videos that didn't sit well with me. The first one focused on farmers in the U.S. and what kind of troubles they have been facing in recent years. It showed how large grain corporations have trademarked certain seeds. These seeds seem to somehow make it all around the world. Showing up in Canada and North Dakota, even looked in Mexico. Then these large organizations were sueing small family farmers for illegally producing their seed. It was really upsetting to see these large companies destroy everything these family farmers have worked for, for generations. They did it all for money and without hesitation. The second movie was about the food in America. It had a lot of upsetting information about the food Americans typically eat, mostly relating to animal products. It for sure made me question some food choices I made. I never heard the story about the Baskin Robbins guy promoting healthy eating, that was very interesting and gutsy on his part.

 It was interesting to hear other classmate comments on the eye-openers we have been doing. These activities are great and do exactly that, open my eyes to something thats going on that I was unaware of. One that really stuck with me is the virutal food-tour I did, with all the slaughterhouse and food factory numbers, really troubling stuff. I didn't anything new about blogging, except how to make a blogger header. It seemed kind of confusing at first how to do it, but the in-class walk through really helped. Other than that the blogging things are going real well, I think or hope I know what I am doing.

Reflection: Weeks 3 & 4

Woah the time really flys once school gets into swing again, it's already almost the middle of October.  It is has been an interesting last couple weeks of class. We took a look at a documentary I have seen several times, An Inconvenient Truth. Everytime I see it, I feel like my eyes get opened up to a new aspect of what it going on, really powerful stuff.  There was also a new project introduced, one I like very much.  The eco-chic lifestyle change allows you to make a healthly lifestyle change that maybe you have been wanting to chnage for some time, but never have a reason or any motivation. 

I have learned several new things about blogging over the weeks. I have learned how to maintain a blog with all of the followers, new posts, and commenting.  I learned things really happen fast in the viral world and I've seen you can do some neat things with advanced gadgets feature.  I have also learned about Google reader.  Before I signed up for it, I had never heard of it before. At first it seemed really confusing and messy. But now as people are commenting on posts, it is a super easy way to follow all of the comments and different posts in one place.  Finally, I learned that one person really can make a difference in the environment, all it takes is a simple lifestyle change.

Reflection: Weeks 1 & 2

A reflection about what we have done the past 2 weeks in class ,and what I have learned.

So far in class we have spent a lot of time discussing the society of America today and how ity relates to the Environment.  About the depelting  natrual resources and what Americans can do in everyday life to help the cause. We watched a very interesting vidoe clip about how the White House is censoring information that is being censored to the public about global warming.

I have learned a lot about the environment already through this course.  I already have several ideas I can do myself to live more "green."  I learned how big of an impact the government has on the environment, with all the policies they regulate.  This class has already taught me all about blogging.  Prior to this course, I had never blogged and was unsure of what it was. It was kind of tricky at first but I think I am slowly getting the hang of the gadgets and features.

I hope the next two weeks are just as educational and interesting.

Introductory Post

Welcome to Getting Green with Jake!

My name is Jake Eastwold, and I am currently a senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth. I am majoring in Healthcare Management with a minor in Health Education. I am originally from Andover, MN which is just north of Minneapolis.  This blog is going to be about environmental change. I will discuss how to "go green" and make a smaller impact on the Earth for future generations.

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



Advocacy Project

Eye Openers

Reflections

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change

Read 'n' Seed

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 six 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:

Amanda@amandaswaterbottlewatch

Kristin@kristinsgreenworld
Keith@keithsgreenbike

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."


So that's it, I hope you enjoy my blog.  I hope it makes your day just a little better each time and helps you to make some environmentally friendly changes you've been thinking about.

"Blogged for the Welcome Linky Party hosted by http://ecochicwithamy.blogspot.com/?."