Reflection: Weeks 1-4

Throughout the first four weeks of this course, I would say I have learned more than I even thought was possible.  From the beginning, we learned the obvious things such as what is environmental health?  How does it affect you?  Why is it necessary to learn about it?  We have also looked at many technological items that are very new to me such as google reader, blogger, and dashboard.  I feel so much more confident in these areas now, only four weeks in, than I did at the beginning.  At first, I was terrifed, technology and I don't usually mix well but so far I have to say it isn't so bad.  Another important thing I have learned is about your ecological footprint.  I had no idea there was such a thing or what kind of impact I was leaving on this planet. 

I really like the aspect of web groups.  It is fun and interesting to read other people's post and see what they think about the environment.  I think one of the best ways to learn is from peers, so this is an excellent example of that.  Another aspect of the course I am fond of is the Read 'N' Seed section, I love my book and feel like I would read it even without this class. 

Regarding the environment, I have learned about new buildings that are environmentally friendly and LEED certified.  I have also learned that recycling is not enough to care for the environment.  If we do not do something extreme soon, eventually the planet is going to be no more.  I should start eating foods grown locally, buying things with less packaging, and carpool more often.  I think I will really benefit from this class and I am looking forward to the rest of the experience. 

Read 'N' Seed 2: First Quarter of Plenty - Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet

For the first quarter of my book I read about the months of March, April, and May.  This covered pages 1-64.

Basically, so far in the book we have looked at some of the challenges they are facing with starting the 100 Mile Diet.  For instance, they live in Canada, having weather much like Minnesota.  So the biggest thing they have had to deal with so far is snow.  Since they are trying to get most of their food grown out of the ground, the snow is becoming a huge problem.  Another thing authors are having issues with is the variety of food they have to eat.  They have not been able to find bread so they have been eating potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes.  Interestingly they created potato-bread.  In a more general sense, the first three months of the book deals with their beginning journey and search for local foods that fall into the 100 mile area. 

Some new terms that I came across in the book are traceability and externalities.  Traceability in this case basically means to be able to identify the location of where the food came from.  Externalities refer to cost and benefit related to the sale of products.  They discussed this in the book in relation to farmer's markets costs, which were often more expensive.  Some significant things I have learned is how far food travels to actually get to different grocery stores and such around the world.  Typically it is up to 2,500 miles or basically saying California to New York.  Another important thing I learned is really just looking at your diet.  What are you consuming?  Do you NEED to be eating this or that?  Or do you just WANT it?  Alissa and James (the authors) realize that they no longer go by what they want, but rather what they need to survive.

Even though I am only a quarter of the way into the book, I already feel so passionate about this topic.  We are wasting so many of the world's resources by transporting food across nations just because we are too lazy to do what they did 80 years ago, which was live off the land they were on.  Sure it may be hard at first because you need to determine what is grown in the area but think of how it will affect your local economy.  It would be very beneficial, and would be saving the entire planet. I really hope I can encourage others to really be aware of the traceability of their food.  Where is it coming from?  Do you really need apples that come from New Zealand?  Wouldn't you be just as satisfied with apples from Minnesota?  My answer is yes, but my assumption is that no one even pays attention.  It is the small things we can do with our diet that can benefit us all in the long run.  I think it relates to our discussion in class about being wasteful with our own resoures, if we DO have food grown locally but do not opt to use and instead get our food elsewhere, we are wasting what is right in front of us and one day it won't be there.  Thus I would hope that others pay more attention to where your foods are coming from.  Maybe even keep of list of different locations, I bet you would be surprised of how far your food is traveling.

Share and Voice: Sesame Street: Outdoors with Jason Mraz

I found this great video put on by Jason Mraz and Sesame Street. Obviously it is targeted towards a younger population but I think it is really important to spend time outside and enjoy the environment we have because one day it might not be as beautiful. This video is important because too many kids these days just sit inside and play video games. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but as a kid, I played outside a lot. Our parents practically made us, weather permitting. I think we need to get back to the good old days when people enjoyed the outdoors.

Watch the video and really listen to the lyrics :) My favorite line "mother nature deserves to be loved" Let me know if you find any favorites too.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

Before this class, I had never heard the term ecological footprint before.  But surprisingly it has been around since 1992.  Your ecological footprint represents the amount of land and sea needed to regenerate the resources you consume and waste. 

I took the EarthDay FootPrint Quiz   It was really shocking to me to see the effect of my lifestyle on the environment.  I was surprised to see some of the questions on the quiz, because I never expected them to have an effect on others or the earth.  For example, asking specific questions about which types of meat I eat was an interesting question.  I am sad to say that my ecological footprint results say that if everyone lived like me it would require 4.5 earths to have enough resources.  After seeing the numbers, I really want to live more earth-friendly.  One thing that impacted my score was my flying time.  Reduce how much I fly was a way I could improve my score, but due to family situations I have to fly every year to go visit them.  Therefore, I must adjust other parts of my life to make up for transportation costs.  Some other suggestions they made were to ride public transportation one day a week, or purchase items with less packaging.  I am currently reading The 100 Mile Diet, so now especially after taking this quiz, I would like to try to consume more foods that are produced locally.  I also took the Travel Calculator Quiz, which also said that I create a lot of pollution from transportation.  The last quiz I took was the Carbon Footprint Calculator, which is actually based on the UK.  This one came up that I was average for my CO2 use. 

Overall, I found this to be a very interesting experience.  I learned a lot about how my life is effecting planet earth.  I need to make a lot of changes in my life so I am more environmental friendly.  This was definitely an eye opening experience for me.  I hope that from our posts more people will take these quizzes and realize how much they are affecting the planet we live on.

Share and Voice: Egypt



The Pyramids of Giza



In May 2009, I traveled across the world to Africa, more specifically Egypt.  It was absolutely amazing.  The question I get asked the most is why did you go?  And honestly, my response is quite simple.  Someone told me about the trip, it sounded excited, so I signed up.  It wasn't some life long dream of mine to go to Egypt but the opportunity arose so I took a chance and decided to go for it. 

I traveled with a group of 25 through my local community college.  People aged 18-60 traveled in our group.  We had a educational tour guide with us the entire time and saw so many fabulous things.  I had no idea how much there was to see there.  When you think of Egypt, you think of pyramids but there is so much more than that.  The weather was between 100-106 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time.  Our days were packed with activities to do from sunrise to sunset, somedays even waking up at 2am to get on a plane to go to a temple to watch the sun rise.

The most important thing I learned from traveling to Egypt, is that there are so many wonderful things out there in this world that are just waiting for you to experience them.  Life is too short to sit in Minnesota forever, take advantage of opportunities when they come your way because you may never get the chance again.  The world is fabulous with so many things to see :)




Yes, all the statues were really that big!



The Sphinx



I held a real crocodile, it was their "pet"

Please feel free to ask me any questions about my adventures to Egypt, I love to talk about it and encourage anyone to go if they get the chance!

Share and Voice: Smart Sun Safety

So as part of my blog I am hoping to inform others on how to be safe in the sun while still having fun.  So I found this website, titled Smart Sun Safety, Fun in the Sun 101 and I thought it was perfect to include in my blog.  The site is put on by the Skin Cancer Foundation and is made possibly through a grant by Banana Boat.  You should visit the site because it is a really fun way to learn about how to protect yourself while in the sun.  The main areas it focuses on are sun safety, skin types, UV rays, and sun protection.  It has quizzes on different subjects relating to sunscreen and the sun.  I took some and was shocked to learn some of the answers.  Test your knowledge with the quiz on Sun Safety, located under Sun Funzone.   It also provides teacher resources and free posters.  I found this site to be really interesting and spent a lot of time just reading the different articles on it.  I really hope you check it out and see what you already know and learn a few new things too.

Read 'N' Seed 1: Plenty - Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet

The book I chose for the Read 'N' Seed portion of the class is called Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. 

The book is about a couple in Canada that plan to eat locally, within 100 miles of their home, for one year.  They learn the challenges and advantages that come along with this journey and become an inspiration for many others around the world.

I chose this book because the title stuck out to me, I thought it sounded really interesting.  After reading the synopsis, I was already hooked.  I'm jealous of the couple before even reading the book because I think this would be a huge challenge, and they were successful at it.  I hope I can learn enough tips from the book that I can tweak my own eating habits in trying to be more environmental friendly and eating locally grown foods.

I found three links that I thought were important to share with all of you,

1. Book Website
2. Book Excerpt
3. Book Review

The first link I found about the book is its main website. It offers information about the book.  It also has a section  on how YOU can join the 100 Mile Diet pledge to eat locally for one meal, one week, one month, or even longer! I think that is an awesome idea.  Once I get more into the book, I think I will take the pledge for a week and see how it goes.

The second link I found is an excerpt from the book.  So you can actually read the first few pages of the book to see if you like it.

The third link I found is more of a book review piece.  It allows you to read someone else's perspective on the book. 

Plenty Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet has 264 pages.  The book is divided into 12 months and an epilogue.  Thus I will divide the book into four sections with three months in each section.  For example, the first quarter will be the months of March, April, and May.  The second quarter will be June, July, and August.  The third quarter will be September, October, and November.  The last quarter will be the months of December, January, February and the epilogue.


I am really looking forward to reading this book so come back and check out what else I learn from Plenty Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet :)