Eye Opener: Online Learning Activities

Defining Medical Terms: Jeff
Pre-op: occurring before a surgical operation

Post-op: relating to, occurring in, or being the period following a surgical operation

Out-patient: a patient who is not hospitalized overnight but who visits a hospital, clinic, or associated facility for diagnosis or treatment

In-patient: a hospital patient who receives lodging and food as well as treatment

Receptionist: a person employed to greet telephone callers, visitors, patients, or clients

Doctor: a person skilled or specializing in healing arts; especially : one (as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice

Nurse: a person who cares for the sick or infirm; specifically : a licensed health-care professional who practices independently or is supervised by a physician, surgeon, or dentist and who is skilled in promoting and maintaining health

Pharmacist: a person licensed to engage in pharmacy, the art, practice, or profession of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing medical drugs

Anesthesiologist: a physician specializing in anesthesiology, which involves the study of the loss of sensation and usually of consciousness without loss of vital functions artificially produced by the administration of one or more agents that block the passage of pain impulses along nerve pathways to the brain

Radiology: a branch of medicine concerned with the use of radiant energy (as X-rays or ultrasound) in the diagnosis and treatment of disease

I Don’t Want to Clean My Room: Jessica
The most interesting fact that I learned from this activity was that vacuum lint can also be composted along with old food! Good to know!

Test Your WaterSense: Erika
According to my final score of 495 and answering 6 out of 12 questions correctly, I am a “WaterSense Expert.” This means that there is still room to increase my knowledge about water wasting!

Barriers to Bicycling: Hannah
When I was in high school, one of my friends hit a bicyclist while driving to school. My friend was driving to volleyball practice at 6am, so the sun was not up yet. She didn’t even see the man cross the street on his bicycle. After he was hit, he immediately fell to the ground and suffered a few broken bones. The reason my friend never saw the bicyclist was because he was wearing dark clothing with no reflectors before dawn. If the man would have been wearing the proper clothing, this accident may have been avoided altogether! Just one more aspect of safety that bicyclers should take into consideration!

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

The Diminishing View of the Grand Canyon

During spring break, I was fortunate enough to travel to the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I experienced the breath-taking exquisiteness of one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Unfortunately, while touring the canyon, I learned that its visual beauty is being compromised by pollutants clouding the air.

The caption on this plaque about air pollution reads: “On a clear day, Mt. Trumbull is visible on the distant horizon 60 miles to the west. How well can you see Mt. Trumbull today?”

This is a photo I took of the polluted view of Mt. Trumbull. Mt. Trumbull should appear as hills along the horizon. On the day I took this photo, the hills were not able to be seen.

Below is information from the plaque about the diminishing view of the Grand Canyon:

I noticed that the Grand Canyon National Park is doing its part to restore its panoramic views by providing recycling bins throughout the park.

Hopefully we can all do our part to protect the stunning view of the Grand Canyon so that is may be witnessed by future generations!

For more information about the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to control air pollution near the Grand Canyon, visit the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission’s website.

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

BURT'S BEES SOAP BARK AND CHAMOMILE DEEP CLEANSING CREAM

RESULTS
Overall Score = 2 (low hazard)

Ingredients in this product are linked to:
Cancer: YES
Developmental/reproductive toxicity: YES
Violations, restrictions & warnings: YES
Allergies/immunotoxicity: NO
Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns

This manufacturer:
Signed Compact for Safe Cosmetics
Does not conduct animal testing

MY THOUGHTS
I always questioned the "natural" label on Burt's Bee's product because I new it didn't have the same meaning as "organic." I never washed my face with any cleansing product before this one, but I figured I would give it a try and that it would be safer than other "unnatural" products loaded with different chemicals. This cleansing product was rated as a low hazard, but it also contains carcinogens, developmental/reproductive toxins and other dangerous ingredients. I would like to look into using a more environmentally friendly product, or research weather or not my face actually needs to be cleansed with any type of product.

Eye Opener: Summary of Reading 9: The Winds of Change

What is wind energy?
According to the author, Margot Roosevelt, wind energy is the world’s fastest growing power source. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, by using wind turbines. It is an intermittent form of energy that can be renewed by nature and can’t be exhausted.

Who is using wind energy?
Currently, only 2.2% of the world’s energy comes from renewable energy sources such as wind power. However, wind energy output is growing 30% annually, faster than fuel! Even oil companies are becoming interested in renewable energy. The governments of Denmark, Germany, Spain, Japan, India, and Iceland have all adopted alternative power sources to create their energy. The United States is very dependent on imported oil. Fossil fuels are currently used for 80% of the US energy. The only time the US government has favored wind energy is when oil prices skyrocketed in the 1970s.

Why should we use wind energy?
The author provides two main reasons for utilizing wind energy: global warming and terrorism. Global warming is caused by heat trapping from carbon dioxide, a by-product of burning fossil fuels. Global warming has serious consequences for our planet and threatens to create a disastrous climate. In relation to terrorism, the author conceives a scary scenario: how much easier would it be to crack open the Trans-Alaska pipeline and how much easier would it be to bomb a nuclear plant than to attack a wind farm?

What does the future hold for wind energy?
Experts say that wind could provide about 12% of the word’s electricity in 20 years. That being said, renewable energy has a long way to go. A conversion to renewable energy will not happen without refined technology, lower costs, or political will. The world as a whole needs to consider the price of pollution. The author stresses that the future is more a matter of choice than destiny.

Different viewpoints on wind energy
1. I felt that the author wrote a very biased article about wind energy. She only mentioned the positive aspects and failed to mention any negative aspects of wind energy. I did some online research and found an article entitled, Wind Energy Development Environmental Concerns, from the Wind Energy Development Programmatic EIS website. While wind energy has relatively little impact on our environment, it still raises some environmental concerns. These concerns include noise impact, visual impact, avian/bat mortality, and health/safety considerations.

2. There have been several research studies conducted that are related to wind turbines and their affect on health. Nina Pierpont is a pediatrician who researches a condition called “wind turbine syndrome.” The condition arises when people are exposed to the whooshing sound of industrial wind turbines for long periods of time. Symptoms include migraine headaches, nausea, and insomnia. Pierpont maintains that it is essential for wind farms to be built no less than 1.25 miles away from homes, public meeting places, and highways. We need to find the appropriate locations for these wind farms, which may require the use of valuable, untouched land.

A question for discussion:

Do you think wind power is a reliable and/or practical form of energy? Why or why not?

Eye Opener: CSPI

I took the “Score Your Diet” quiz from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. My diet received a score of 14, which means “Uh-oh!”

High Scores
I scored the highest for Fruit, Vegetables, and Whole Grains. This is probably due to the fact that this food is provided for us by our environment and generally does not need to be processed.

Low Scores
I scored the lowest for Cheese, Milk, Beef, Chicken, Eggs, and Candy/Pastries/Ice Cream. This is probably because this food needs to be processed, which causes detrimental effects on our environment.

Areas of Improvement
I need the most improvement in the environmental category. To improve my score, I need to consume less animal products, such as: meat, dairy, and eggs. To actually attempt to eliminate these food products from my diet would require a significant lifestyle change that includes a greener diet!

Summary
I guess I already knew that consuming plant products was good for our environment and consuming animal products was not. What I didn’t know was that consuming just one serving of meat a week significantly impacts my health and the environment. I know that I need to lessen my consumption of animal products to reduce my overall score, but I’ll be honest: I am not ready to give those foods up! Maybe I could take small steps in the right direction, and consume less animal products in general, rather than completely eliminating them from my diet! What do you guys think?

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

I took the Ecological Footprint Quiz from the Redefining Progress website. After completing the quiz and receiving my results, I was shocked to learn that if everyone on the planet lived my lifestyle, we would need 4.48 earths to sustain our activities!!! I had previously thought of myself as an environmentally conscious person, but there are obviously more ways that I can reduce my footprint!

I liked this quiz because it created four categories of consumption within the measurement of my environmental impact. These categories include: Carbon Footprint, Food Footprint, Housing Footprint, and Goods & Service Footprint. My impact was compared to the country average in each category. I exceeded the country average in my Food Footprint and my Housing Footprint.

To reduce my footprint, the website recommended several strategies in each category of consumption. There were several tips that I had never thought of before, including:

• Avoid allowing your car to idle. If you’ll be waiting for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine (except in traffic). And don’t take the drive-through—park the car and walk inside instead.


• Defrost your refrigerator and freezer regularly.


• Purchase carbon offsets to make up for the energy use you can’t eliminate.


• Eat lower on the food chain—going meatless for just one meal a week can make a difference. Globally, it has been estimated that 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions are associated with meat consumption.

I feel that there are many financial barriers for college students wishing to become more environmentally friendly. I strive to do little things every day with the intention that they will accumulate and make a dent in the world’s effort to conserve our environment. I feel that once I have more control over my living situation (i.e. permanent home and stable income), I will be able to make an even bigger impact on our environment!