Reflections: Weeks 7 and 8

Hey Bloggers!!!
Wow, we sure have covered a lot of information the last couple weeks. Hopefully everyone's keeping up! I feel like I've learned so much the last couple weeks. I am beginning to put the pieces together in order to change my lifestyle and the way I view my environment.
Week 7
The coolest thing that we did this week was the Environmental Group activity. This activity required us to research a daily product we use and to see how harmful the chemicals involved are. I chose Herbal Essences Hairspray which turned out to be a level 6. I was shocked! I know hairspray is not the most environmentally friendly, but I did not expect a level 6. It informed me that this product has been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, and also tested on animals. After knowing this information I have cut down my usage of this product. I don't plan on quitting it anytime soon, but am willing to try other products.

We also watched a movie called "Green" which was a student created film showing the effects of factories' pollution in Louisiana. It's known as "Cancer Alley" which is really frightening. The movie began interviewing families of the community who were physically effected from their cities' conditions. A woman told her story how she is a cancer survivor. Another story told of a woman who's children are developing asthma through the pollutants in the air. I was very shocked to see this film, but then began to think what these companies are actually contributing to. We are all unintentional contributors to these companies. Everything we use on a daily basis has been created through these corporations.

Week 8
During week 8, we watched a movie called "Thirst," which showed us the political side of privatizing water.

Since water is scarce, crime rates have increased along with death. The people of these communities are shouting, "Water for Life, Not for Profit!" That is exactly right! These companies try to make profit on everything possible. Everything is about money, money, money. Pretty soon the air we breathe will cost money at the rate we're going. I really take my water supply for granted. I can't imagine paying for water like fuel prices. Many people are dying due to lack of water.

That's when I began to think. What if Duluth was going through these problems? Would I be holding up signs and protesting like the people in the picture above? I actually don't know what I would do. I don't think that we should sit back and prop up our feet waiting for this problem to affect us. Would you protest against water prioritization? What if we run out of our water resources as a whole? We need to be aware of the fact that we have limited resources.

I believe that these movies have taught us a lot of information that will be useful in the future. Since many of us are in progress of being health educators, these are topics you may introduce to your communities. I never even knew these issues were being discussed since I took this course. I feel that we're all uninformed of these issues that are to be known. So take a stand, make a difference, and tell others about water privatization.
Check out this link:
Stop Prioritizing Water