Weeks 15&16

Is it real? Are we done?? Yes yes it is....I have learned so much from this class! Let's reflect on the last two weeks:

Week 15:

During this week we had an eye opener: Online learning activity. It was really fun and interesting to do because we got to find an activity online for our web group to do and then report their outcomes.  We also had a very special guest speaker, Sue Whitney, a professional "junker" come and talk to our class. I thought this was very cool to listen to her talk and she also gave each of us her new book! Im not going to lie I have been obsessed with this book ever since we received it. I love how she made the book look like a Pottery Barn layout! The things she does is amazing to me and I wish I could be that creative recreating junk. This definitely inspired me to reuse things that I already had. What a treat!

Week 16: 

During wee 16 we just had to comment on our groups activity post, and do one last reflection and comment. This will officially be our last week of blogging...phew! All though I really enjoyed the blogging process and learned a lot. It will be nice to not have to have "share%voice's" on my mind 24/7. Thanks to everyone for the nice comments and for inspiring me to make my blog better! I really enjoyed reading everyone's blogs! We have all really come a long way!

Like I have said before, I have learned so so much!! Heres a few things that come to mind of what I have learned:

-blogging

-junking

-How to be an advocate

-water prioritization

-how to use a compass(or not how to use a compass)

-plastics are the devil!

-use reusable bags when grocery shopping

-global warming

-eat more fresh vegetables and fruits and less meat!

-ozone is closing

-my web group was the best!(Abbey, Ben, SaraJ, Ingrid,Autumn!)

-how to take a good photo!

-how to leave a good comment on a blog post

Share & Voice: Award!

I recently recieved an award from Christen for my Share&Voice: Fast Food Nation. Thanks Christen!!! I am now passing on my award to Ben for his Share&Voice: How to be an eco -friendly beer drinker! His post was really funny and will become very useful to us once finals are over and summer approaches! Great job Ben! Follow these instructions below and pick up your award!!!

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.

2. Create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).

3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).

4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.

5. Publish the post.

.6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.

7. Continue the process...

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

I really enjoyed doing my web groups activities! Here are my results:

Dining Decisions by Autumn:While doing this activity,I picked healthy foods, but lacked all parts of the food group like dairy and protein. I actually do lack protein in my everyday diet so this activity helped me to realize that I need to eat more of a variety of the food groups. Thanks Autumn for making me realize my diet needs improvement.

Tobacco Facts Puke Page by Sara
After viewing the picture on Sara's post, I stand by my belief that there should be a complete smoking/tobacco ban in public schools. I don't think it will prevent kids from not smoking/using tobacco completely, but it would definitely help. I think there is not enough knowledge about what can really happen to your body in the long run from tobacco use. Looking at those people that ruined their bodies by using tobacco makes me sick. It also makes me sick how so many people know that tobacco is bad for them and they still continue to endanger their lives and the people around them. Its selfish and careless and I think a ban in every school would be totally appropriate.

Bobbie's Foot-O-Meter by Abbey
After completing the questions on the Abbey's activity, I was given a score of 7.3 acres. yikes! This activity made me realize how I can reduce my carbon footprint by recycling more, using less water and electricity and walking more to places instead of driving. Just doing these simple little things can decrease my footprint by a long shot. This activity really opened my eyes. Thanks Abbey!

Build your own virtual "green" house by Ben
climate I picked: subtropical
construction I picked: recycled

energy I picked: solar panels/heating and

For efficiency I picked mostly all of them: energy efficient lighting, energy star appliances, water recycling,efficient heating/cooling, materials recycling, water recycling, and smart home technology!

Spending and efficiency: I spent $99,000 and have 195% efficiency!

"Water Calculator" by Ingrid.

This activity was really an eye opener for me because I ended up using 58 gallons per day. It is not even as bad as the typical 71 gallons a normal person uses and I still feel bad! I think I can improve this a ton by not letting the water run while brushing my teeth and doing the dishes, and also taking shorter showers! I think a lot of us can learn from doing this activity! Thanks Ingrid!

Share&Voice:Fast Food Nation!

For my online psychology class, we were given the assignment to read Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. I was really excited when I was given this assignment because this is a topic that interests me very much! As I was reading, the inner blogger in me thought this would make a great Share&Voice. I would definitely recommend reading this book! It will make you rethink your decision next time you are hungry for some Mickey D's!

Here are some interesting facts about McDonalds that the book gave:

• McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork and potatoes and second largest of chicken(KFC being number one).
• They have replaced Coca Coca as the world's most famous brand.
• Ronald McDonald is more widely recognized by American children than Jesus himself, and second only to Santa Claus!
• The Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross!
• It operates more playgrounds-designed to attract children and their parents to its restaurants- than any other private entry in the US.

Fast Food Chains:

• At least 20 school districts in the US have their own Subway franchises, an additional fifteen hundred districts have Subway contracts, and nine operate Subway sandwich carts.
• Taco Bell sells products in about 4,500 school cafeterias. Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, and McDonald's are now selling food in US schools.
• 3o% of the public high schools in the US offer branded fast food.
• Elementry schools in Fort Collins, Colorado now serve food from Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Subway on special lunch days!

I would also recommend seeing Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock....!!!

Share and Voice: America's Top Ten Green Colleges!

So I was bored one day and thinking about things to blog about(has become a natural instinct) and came across this website. Forbes.com has come up with a top ten list of green colleges...Guess what state is on the list??????MINNESOTA!

Top Then Green Colleges:

• Carleton College, Minnesota
  
• College of the Atlantic
  
• Dartmuth College
  
• Harvard
  
• Midlebury
  
• New York University
  
• University of CA Santa Cruz
  
• University of Pennsylvania
  
• University of Vermont
  
• University of Washington
  

Advocacy Project: Environmental Learning Activity: Little D The Dragon!

Little D The Dragon Exercise



Purpose: This activity could be used in schools to help children to understand the food pyramid and the five food groups. This goes with the bill for Nutrition and Obesity, because eating a variety of nutritious foods has led to decreased risks of heart disease and childhood obesity. This activity is very colorful and inviting to school aged children. Try it out!


Instructions: Click here, then click on "How to Play". Read instructions and do the activity.


Here is an image of the Food Pyramid:

Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14

Ok so we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here..(even though there is no light in my tunnel until middle of July because I will be talking summer classes...ICK!) But hey at least I will be done by one everyday:)  If I am not misunderstood it is April and what does April mean???April SHowers!!(can u sense my sarcasm?) The weather hasn't been that great lately....weird its Duluth and the weather is always nice....not. Ok Im here to reflect on weeks 13 and 14 of environmental so lets get on with it........

Week 13: 

During week 13 we watched a little video called The Story of Stuff. This was about how the things we use gets to us and where it goes when w

e are finished. This was very interesting because it makes you think about what

 goes into making a product and what is sacrificed. I don't think people realize this when they are p

urchasing something. We also had an advocacy project due that was titled: Issue overview. For this blog, we each chose a topic from THOMAS that was an individual goal that was being brought to congress's attention.  For my issue, I picked Nutrition and obesity(go figure) because I am ver

y interested in nutrition and how it affects one's weight.  Some of the topics people chose were very interesting and it was amazing to me to see how much work there is being done in congress to pass some of these as bills.

We also were able to get outside on Thursday and work my awesome navigation skills in the Bagley Nature Area . Although I love being outside when its nice out....the compass thing was not my cup of tea. I must say if you are ever in the mountains with me and nee

d to get somewhere...do not leave me in charge...Thought of the day: Katie+compass=disaster!  I think I mostly liked being with my fellow environmentalists( Heather, Sara J, and Autumn were my group members). And I would have to say shout out to Sara J for getting us through that fun little activity!!  I guess college is all about learning what you like and don't like...haha! I must say it was a learning experience!

Week 14:

On Tues of Week 14, we had a speaker come and talk to us about the Environmental Masters Program. This got me thinking that this area would be really interesting to learn more about. It also gave me some more thought to what I have already been thinking about a little bit: Americore.  I think

 this is something that I could possibly look into later and really enjoy being a part of.  It is also a great thing for people(like me) who do not know really what they want to do after they graduate.

On Thurs of Week 14, we did a really fun activity including junk.  My web group (Abbey, Sara J,Ben, Autumn, and Ingrid) came up with some really fun and crazy ideas for the junk we were presented by Dr. V. It was really fun 

to see how many creative ideas you could transform junk stuff.  This made me realize how much stuff I had at my house that I could turn into some useful.

I cant believe I just did a reflection on weeks 13 and 14. I have had so much fun in Environmental an

d I have learned things in this course that I would not have learned in any other course! Thanks to everyone for inspiring me to be the environmentalists that i can be!