Reflection: Weeks 15 & 16

Week 15 and 16
During Week 15, we were very fortunate to meet Sue Whitney author and founder of JUNKMARKET. This was a fun experience, I always enjoy meeting people that put themselves out there and are successful. Thanks for the book too that was really nice. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy the sun and discuss what we took from the class. I like everyone else except maybe Sara J learned quite a bit and how important it is to do our own little part.

What struck me the most!
I don't know that I'll ever do anything about it but I was mad a couple times this semester namely at Monsanto and how they treated Canadian canola farmer Percy Schmeiser who had been saving and developing his own seeds for 40 years. I was also annoyed at the government for the way Cancer Alley is set up and how we aren't protecting the people of our country. I was completely impressed by the Inconvenient Truth as prior to this I was on the fence whether or not global warming was true, well I'm a believer now!

Great Group
I really have to say it was a fun experience getting to know all you young punks and that you all made my coming back to school a good experience. Thank for letting me into your group, Have a Great Summer!

Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

These are some of the Online Learning Activities that were posted by my group member, all were fun and educational.

Kids Health

Sara had a few different games to play and they were fun and informational at the same time. I never knew that pigs only slept about 8 hours a day which is less that little kids as they are suppose to get 10-11 hours daily and on average they only get 9.5 per day. I can say that my boys are right on pace, they get 10 hrs. on most days.
She also had a spelling bee and that was fun too.





Sprawl City:
At Kevin's site there is a test regarding urban sprawl. I only managed a 33% on the quiz he put together. I'm not sure what I think about this subject. Part of me thinks people should be able to get away from urban areas if they want to, and the other part understands the concept that it would be good for our environment so it should be considered.


Air Quality Index:

At Jayme's site I did a little game show where I earned an 80, fun little test, hopefully we never get to the day we have a purple warning indicating that it's to dangerous to play outside.

Advocacy Project: Clean Water Activity

I Want my Water Clean, Cheap, and Tastin' Good!! This is your opportunity to learn a little bit about the cost of waters infrastructure in the United States of America. I put together a little quiz for you just so you would look through the following web-sites to find the answers. This is such an interesting topic since it relates to each and everyone of us at some level. The information comes from these two websites: EPA.GOV Safewater EPA.GOV Needs Factsheet Another site that is interesting reading is: CDC.GOV The Value of Tap Water Have fun with the the test. Thank you very much and stay thirsty. Looking for more water games to play Check out Thirstin and try playing his games. Know Your Drinking Water!! 1) The total nationwide infrastructure need is $334.8 billion for the 20-year period from Jan.'07 through Dec. 2027 what community will need the biggest chunk? Large Community Water Systems (serving over 50,000 people) Medium Community Water Systems (serving 3,301 to 50,000 people) Small Community Water Systems (serving 3,300 and fewer people) Not-for-profit Noncommunity Water Systems Enjoy the last week of classes, and stay hydrated, you'll think clearer!!

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Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14

Things are really heating up on the school front as we get to the end, hopefully everyone is getting enough sleep;)

Week 13: We watched "The Story of Stuff" which is definitely bias but Annie Leonard certainly is taking a stand and I admire her for that. On Thurs. went to the bagley nature area to do some navigation skills. We learned to put the red in the shed and follow Fred on our compasses. This was a pretty fun activity as I like the outdoors and had never been taught that before.

Week 14: We listened to Brian talk about his job with AmeriCorps and how it's related to the environment. We had to write an Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official this was interesting as I've read lots of letters to the editor but have never written one nor had I written a letter to a public official. On Thursday we did a re-purpose activity, this was pretty fun and many class-mates had some great creative ideas. It seems like just about anything can be a candle holder!!

What I learned about myself:
Learned that I am now on-board with the concept of global warming, as twice in the last two weeks I've told someone to watch Al Gore and 'An Inconvenient Truth' because they told me they didn't believe in global warming.

The environment:
From the Story of Stuff how destructive we are being to other parts of the world not keeping it to our own continent.

Blogging:
Not learning much about blogging, but getting more efficient.

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

Congressman Jim Oberstar
Washington, D.C. Office
2365 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6211 Office

Dear Congressman Oberstar,

I am writing to you about the issue of Water Infrastructure and why it might be a good thing to take action on sooner than later. I am pleased to see that the bill H.R. 537: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2009 was Introduced in House To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

This issue would bring water and wastewater projects out from under the state volume cap on private activity bonds, and thereby significantly expand the availability of low-cost financing for water infrastructure projects. These projects most benefit the people within the community as they will have cleaner safer more efficient water resources. The other benefactor of this issue would be all the work that would be contracted out to complete such projects.

Congressman Oberstar, no matter how we slice it, all people have to have clean drinking water, so if we maintain and upgrade what we have now in way of infrastructure, it may save us money in the long run. On the other hand, not doing anything will result in perhaps having to find an alternate way to get our water for drinking and cooking and cleaning and etc.... Can you imagine having to buy bottled water that has been filtered not for taste but just for safety, then turning around and using your recently purchased bottled water to cook noodles for spaghetti, because we can't use water from our tap.

These are some of the critical issues facing urban and rural water systems, which includes much of northern Minnesota and all the people living here.
-Many drinking water and wastewater systems were built 100 years ago and are nearing the end of their useful life.
-There is a large dollar gap (in billions) between needs and spending at national or local levels.
-Our population increases add to the burden on existing water systems. The Census Bureau projects that the U.S. population will reach 450 million by 2050, currently the USA has a population of 306 million.

From the list of funding requests Congressman Oberstar is making on behalf of his constituents in FY 2010 is the project called Central Iron Range Sanitary Sewer District, MN. This project was given the amount of $4,000,000. The project will provide a cost-effective regional wastewater treatment solution in and around the cities of Buhl, Kinney, and Chisholm. Will benefit the area’s environment and natural resources through pollution prevention, safeguard the public health, and meet the mandated requirements of the Lake Superior Drainage Basin.

I am hoping for your support when the bill H.R. 537: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2009 comes to vote. This is the prudent action to take in maintaining and progressing the infrastructure that is vital for not only small communities in Minnesota but for our whole country.

If there is anything that I can do to help you in this cause please let me know. I can be reached at the address below.

Thanks for your time,




777 Lovin' Life Blvd.
Bestown, MN
55777
218-555-7777
D007@cleanwater.com

Share and Voice: ENVIRO-cool Blog Award Goes to...

I have been honored as the latest winner of the EnviroCool Blog Award presented by Dr.V @Amy's Environmental Adventure. for my post entitled Share and Voice: Air Quality at Ice Rinks.

I am happy to be able to pass this award onto a wonderful blogger named Sara H. for her Share and Voice:Fourth Anual City-Wide Spring Sweep. She had a couple great pictures and the topic is very appropriate for this time of year as our streets are covered with dirt from the long winter. I hadn't thought about recycling dirt but what a great idea. She also had some good resources regarding recycling.


Award Instructions

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...

Share and Voice: A-Z Geen Ideas

A-Z Ideas for Going Green

Maybe your looking for something to do, well here is a website that gives you some green ideas.

For example, the next time you go home and are bored, take a look at this A-Z Ideas for Going Green website then look under the letter S which stands for Stop a Leak, the website gives you an environmentally healthy idea. This particular idea is to organize a Stop-the-Leak Day in which everyone in your family tightens, insulates, replaces, caulks, and does whatever else is necessary to make your home as "tight" as possible. Your local water, gas, or electric utility company may be able to provide help, or even instructions and supplies.

One of my favorites from the list is Y for Yell at a Litterer.

There are other good ones too. I'm sure many of you are pretty bored with no homework to do so go out and do some good!!!