Read 'n' Seed 6: Final Review of "How to Shit in the Wood" and "It's Easy Being Green"

Overview of the books:

"How to Shit in the Woods," taught the reader how to properly crap in the wilderness, however while doing this the author also presents many of the hazards and risks that are associated with thousands of years of crapping by millions of different species. The author also talks about common diseases that have become much more popular over the last few decades. Two of the diseases that were talked about in detail were Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The author also talked about many different types of tools you can buy to avoid crapping in the woods or disposing of unsafe materials.
"It's Easy Being Green," had many different ideas as to how to improve your everyday life in order to live a more green life. /One of the most interesting part of the books I thought was when many of the myths about living green were dispelled.

Three most significant things:

1. From "How to Shit in the Woods," according to the Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention no surface water is guaranteed free of the microscopic organisms that parasitic diseases. Giardia and Cryptosporidium are two of the most common diseases.
2. From "How to Shit in the Woods," one form of disinfecting water is boiling. Contrary to previous beliefs this is now thought to kill all waterborne enteric pathogens immediately. Other chemical forms used to disinfect water are chlorine and iodine. Both of these techniques have there down falls, which is why purchasing a filter or boiling is now recommended.
3. From "It's Easy Being Green," this is one of the most important things people who are interested in going green should realize, a myth dispelled:

• Nothing I do will make a difference if no one else is doing anything
• every act when multiplied over many days and many people  will produce positive results
• even if changes can't always be seen, they are still always occurring
  
• by making changes you can encourage the people around you to do the same

What do these books mean to me? Why are they important?

"How to Shit in the Woods," taught me a lot about a topic that I previously had no knowledge of. I never knew that people disposing of there fecal matter in the woods could be so detrimental to our woods and health. "It's Easy Being Green," showed me a lot of different ways in which I can make subtle changes in my life to be more environmentally friendly. The book also put to rest a lot of myths that hold people back from "going green." For this reason it was really nice to see them identify that everything you do is contributing to a better, healthy, world.

Do I recommend these books? Why of why not?

I would definitely recommend reading "How to Shit in the Woods," it is absolutely hilarious and it is written in a very laid back tone. I also learned a lot about the importance of properly disposing of EVERYTHING when you are in the wilderness.
I would still recommend reading "It's Easy Being Green," because there are a lot of good ideas in the text. However, out of the two I would recommend reading "How to Shit in the Woods."

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10: Overall Project Reflection

My SMART goal was to start recycling at my apartment complex. I changed a few things over the past 10 weeks in order make my goal more difficult to attain because it was fairly easy to keep up with recycling my aluminum cans, plastic and glass at first. A few weeks in I decided to start cutting down on the amount of carbonated water I was drinking because not only was it not as healthy as regular water but it also created more recycling then need be. Another thing I added was recycling paper. It was almost like I completely forgot that you can recycle paper as well until the last few weeks.

My SMART goal was very successful. I started something that I will definitely continue doing for quite awhile. I learned that I took advantage of the ease of recycling that I have at my home in the cities. At my house we have a recycling bin and it gets picked up on the end of our driveway once every two weeks. At school I had to make much more of an effort to collect the recycling and then bring it to the recycling center. I really wish that my landlord would have been more receptive to the whole recycling idea but on the other side of things I got my roommate to recycle as well so that was very exciting.

I benefited from doing this eco-chic lifestyle change because it taught me to reduce the amount of waste I leave on earth. I want to be as green as possible and this was a good first step to take. It's always really easy to do something when you have the resources necessary around you to do it. I learned how to be proactive and find the resources needed to recycle when I didn't have a pick up schedule that made it easy for me.

I am really glad that my roommate decided to adopt this lifestyle change as well. It was so nice to see how much less trash we produced when we started keeping a recycling bin. It made me happy that I was able to influence someone else in my life even if it was only one person. I look forward to continuing this behavior and hope to influence some of the other people in my apartment complex. Or at least spark their interest when I walk out of my apartment with a few bags full of recyclable items.

For other people who are interested in making a lifestyle change I would say that no matter what your goal is don't get too comfortable with it or get discouraged if you don't meet your goal. It is important to make your goal a challenge so if you see yourself consistently meeting your goal don't be afraid to make it more difficult. Also, don't get discouraged if you don't meet your goal if you need to make a change or just try again the following week.

I am looking forward to continuing my lifestyle change for years to come!!! Hope you had a good time following my experience.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy.

Share & Voice: Earth Song

I went to see Michael Jackson's "This Is It," movie awhile back and I believe that this was the closing song. To be honest I have somewhat of a weakness for Michael Jackson's music so I thought I would post his "Earth Song," as one of my share and voices. I think it it's an awesome song definitely worth listening too if you haven't heard it before or if you like MJ.

Below is just one of the few verses in the song that I think can be related to environmental health. It really made me think about what has happened over to our Earth over the years.

"What about animals (what about it)
We've turned kingdoms to dust (what about us)
What about elephants (what about us)
Have we lost their trust (what about us)
What about crying whales (what about us)
We're ravaging the seas (what about us)
What about forest trails (ooh ooh)
Burnt despite our pleas (what about us)"

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

December 6, 2009
Senator Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Sentae
302 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, DC 20510


Dear Senator Klobuchar:

I am writing to you to vote YES to the H.R.1256 bill which is promoting regulation of tobacco products in order to protect public health.  Smoking poses a seriously problem not only in the state of Minnesota but all over the nation as well. In fact, every year tobacco causes more than 440,000 deaths in the United States. Ironically, of these 440,000 deaths, 38,000 are from secondhand smoke. In the last 40 years around 12 million Americans have died prematurely because of smoking!

Unfortunately the effects of smoking are being seen in adolescents as well. Cigarettes are currently the main way that tobacco is being used by adolescents. However, smokeless tobacco/chew is an emerging issues that must be addressed. Internet sales of tobacco is yet another way that adolescents are illegally getting their hands on tobacco products. Recent surveys also show that it is much easier to obtain tobacco from friends and family. Something must be done in order to stop the trend and reverse the numbers that are continuing to spiral out of control. The following are some ideas for improving the high tobacco use among adolescents grades 9-12: increased tobacco prices, smoke-free policies in workplaces, public places and schools, reduced prices on cessation services, and telephone quitlines.

I hope that some of these ideas could be incorporated into the passing of H.R. 1256. I firmly believe that if you vote yes on this bill and it is put into effect that we will see results in the community and a decrease in the number of illnesses and deaths associated with smoking.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the importance of voting yes on H.R. #1256. 


Sincerely, 


Kristin D
(contact)

Reflection Post: Weeks 11 and 12

Week 11: This week we watched a short video entitled "The Story of Stuff," narrated by Annie Leonard. In this video there were many different topics discussed that were related to environmental health. One of the most interesting things I have learned in this class that was reiterated in this video is the fact that the US uses 30% of the world's resources. This is especially shocking considering we make up much less than that percentage with our population. After the video we looked at some of the different objects that Dr. V brought in that most people would consider "junk." We then made a list of things that the different objects could be used for. I had a lot of fun doing this!!!

Week 12: This week we learned about MckLinky blog hops. We then used the blog hop that we created to show our photo essays to the class. It was interesting to see the different topics that people in the class picked to share. After we shared our photo essays we talked about an upcoming assignment for our advocacy project. As a class we discussed how to write a letter to an editor as well as a political representative. I got a lot of good ideas from this :)

Looking forward to the last few weeks of the semester! Have a good weekend everyone.

Share & Voice: Recycling Commercial

I thought this video was extremely cute and goes along well with my SMART goal. It is true what they say in the video you really are never to young to start recycling :)  If we teach kids the importance of recycling at a young age (elementary school or earlier) it will become an everyday part of their life and hopefully stick with them throughout their lifetime. If elementary schools require and promote recycling it also has the opportunity to crossover to a students home and make a difference there as well!!

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 9: Weekly Update

My SMART goal was to start recycling at my apartment complex.Things are going well again this week. I am doing much, much, much better with not using as many plastic bottles. I realize that I was pretty bad a few weeks ago but I have definitely made a turn in the right direstion towards completely fixing that problem. I have also noticed that I save more money when I don't produce as many plastic bottles :) always a plus!!!

I decided to add a new component to my SMART goal, which is to start recycling paper items. I just noticed that for whatever reason I was recycling cans and plastic bottles but was completely forgetting about the fact that I could recycle old assignments and paper that is no longer necessary for me to have. This is something that I hope to get better on and remember to do! I'll check in next week and let you know how things are going :)

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 9 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy