Through these first four weeks of Environmental Health I can honestly say that I have learned way more than I through I ever could in this short of time. I would like to start out by saying that I never in my life envisioned I would have or use a blog, and now it is part of my everyday life. When we first learned how to develop a blog we learned multiple things regarding blogging, from blog etiquette to how to create an avatar (an animated version of yourself). Also within our blogging we learned how to comment on the blogs of our group members. Commenting is helpful because it provides you with input from your group members on your blog and the things you post on it. We learned how to manage our blogs by using Google Reader, a website where you can subscribe to your group members blogs as well as any other information you desire that is on the Internet.
During the third week of class we chose our Read 'n' Seed books, we will be reading these over the course of the next few weeks to inform our classmates (via blog) of the issues and topics our books cover. The book I chose is Exposed by Mark Schapiro, it is an overview of how the European Union (EU) is addressing the toxic chemicals that are put into everyday products used by people all over the world. It touches on a set of guidelines that the EU is putting into place to ban these negative substances from use in products throughout Europe. The catch is that throughout the United States we are doing noting to regulate the ingredients that are impacting us daily, and this book points out the reasons why we continue to cut corners.
At the beginning of this week (week 4) we has class at the new Bagly Outdoor Classroom, where we discussed our ecological footprint quizzes and learned the "ins" and "outs" of the classroom. Our ecological footprint quizzes were a true 'eye-opener' because it put into perspective how wasteful we really are as a society. My ecological footprint being almost 4 earths really made me realize how I can do my best to make sure to preserve our earths resources and educate my peer on these issues as well.
This overview once again covers just the first four weeks of this class, and I am extremely excited to see what the remainder of this semester has to offer!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Share & Voice: Western Wisconsin in the Fall
Read 'n' Seed 2: First Quarter of "Exposed"
So far through "Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power" I have read the first two chapters (41 pages), these chapters were titles "Soft Power, Hard Edges" and "The Beauty Bluff."
So far into my reading the author Mark Schapiro has given a brief overview of the steps the European Union (EU) has taken to rid their products, from computers to makeup, of the toxic chemicals used to make everyday items. Chapter 2 took a more in depth look into the cosmetics industry and how the EU has made it a top priority to make sure their citizens are safe from these types of toxic chemicals. On the other hand the United States, for the most part, chooses to turn a blind eye to these issues in order to not compromise profit. This book will continue to take an in depth look into a large majority of products consumers in the U.S. used in their everyday lives that contain these types of toxins.
Throughout the making of this book Schapiro has interviewed dozens of individuals and organizations form both sides of this spectrum, and the results are staggering. A European committee of toxicologists known as the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products congregated in 2005 to develop a "negative list" of ingredients that are not allowed in cosmetics in Europe. By the end of 2006 this list had grown from four hundred to more than eleven hundred substances. Meanwhile the United States just leave it up to the cosmetic companies to decide what is appropriate to include as an ingredient in their products. A statement from the the FDA's Bureau of Colors and Cosmetics in the book reads, "Cosmetic products and ingredients are not subject of FDA pre-market approval authority.....Cosmetic firms are responsible for substaining the safety of their products and ingredients before marketing." This book also discusses "glocalism," which is an individual, group, division, unit, organization and community which is willing to "think globally and act locally." In a nutshell this means that with the actions taken by specific organizations doing their part to following the guidelines put in place by the EU to ensure the safety of their customers, the overall outlook on consumer safety and protection will be viewed as a necessity by most if not all companies throughout all of Europe.
I feel like this impacts everyone within our society because these toxic products will influence us all either individually or the people closest to us. A statistic found in the book, courtesy of the University of South California School of Medicine, states that women who use hair dyes at least once a month are twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than women who do not; and those who use it for fifteen years or longer face triple the risk. This is just one of may statistics that have been provided throughout this book, and as a whole this book has completely opened my eyes about how us as citizens of the United States are all at risk of these types of effects.
So far into my reading the author Mark Schapiro has given a brief overview of the steps the European Union (EU) has taken to rid their products, from computers to makeup, of the toxic chemicals used to make everyday items. Chapter 2 took a more in depth look into the cosmetics industry and how the EU has made it a top priority to make sure their citizens are safe from these types of toxic chemicals. On the other hand the United States, for the most part, chooses to turn a blind eye to these issues in order to not compromise profit. This book will continue to take an in depth look into a large majority of products consumers in the U.S. used in their everyday lives that contain these types of toxins.
Throughout the making of this book Schapiro has interviewed dozens of individuals and organizations form both sides of this spectrum, and the results are staggering. A European committee of toxicologists known as the Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products congregated in 2005 to develop a "negative list" of ingredients that are not allowed in cosmetics in Europe. By the end of 2006 this list had grown from four hundred to more than eleven hundred substances. Meanwhile the United States just leave it up to the cosmetic companies to decide what is appropriate to include as an ingredient in their products. A statement from the the FDA's Bureau of Colors and Cosmetics in the book reads, "Cosmetic products and ingredients are not subject of FDA pre-market approval authority.....Cosmetic firms are responsible for substaining the safety of their products and ingredients before marketing." This book also discusses "glocalism," which is an individual, group, division, unit, organization and community which is willing to "think globally and act locally." In a nutshell this means that with the actions taken by specific organizations doing their part to following the guidelines put in place by the EU to ensure the safety of their customers, the overall outlook on consumer safety and protection will be viewed as a necessity by most if not all companies throughout all of Europe.
I feel like this impacts everyone within our society because these toxic products will influence us all either individually or the people closest to us. A statistic found in the book, courtesy of the University of South California School of Medicine, states that women who use hair dyes at least once a month are twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than women who do not; and those who use it for fifteen years or longer face triple the risk. This is just one of may statistics that have been provided throughout this book, and as a whole this book has completely opened my eyes about how us as citizens of the United States are all at risk of these types of effects.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Share and Voice: Green Resort - One of Wisconsin's Most Environmentally Friendly Facilities
While doing my internship this past summer I attended the Western Wisconsin Worksite Wellness Conference at the Florian Gardens Convention Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. While talking with some people at the conference, this topic came up in conversation because the resort just happened to be right next to where the conference was being held. I thought it was extremely interesting and would like to share it with everyone else.
Green Friendly Resort
The Chaos Waterpark, which is attached to the Acton City amusement park, was awarded in 2009 as one of "Wisconsins Top 30 Projects" and the "Best of Aquatics" award from Aquatics International. The water park uses approximately 10% of the average million and a half gallons to backwash its pool. This water from the pool also circulates throughout the Metropolis Hotel to control the temperature of the hotels rooms. The water in the pool also does not carry any sort of smell and the waterpark uses an air infused cleaning system which is still Wisconsin's only such system to date. Overall the water park purifies 950 gallons of water per minute, seven times above the industry standard, which makes this Wisconsin cleanest water parka and reduces the amount of water wasted in the process.
Green Friendly Resort
The Chaos Waterpark, which is attached to the Acton City amusement park, was awarded in 2009 as one of "Wisconsins Top 30 Projects" and the "Best of Aquatics" award from Aquatics International. The water park uses approximately 10% of the average million and a half gallons to backwash its pool. This water from the pool also circulates throughout the Metropolis Hotel to control the temperature of the hotels rooms. The water in the pool also does not carry any sort of smell and the waterpark uses an air infused cleaning system which is still Wisconsin's only such system to date. Overall the water park purifies 950 gallons of water per minute, seven times above the industry standard, which makes this Wisconsin cleanest water parka and reduces the amount of water wasted in the process.
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