Reflection Weeks 8-15

Reflection Time!

I know this has been said before, but what haven't we learned in this class? I can honestly say that this has been my favorite class in my three and a half years at UMD. It has been thought provoking, challenging and interesting, to say the least. The second half of the semester has been a little more challenging than the first. I would say this was due to all the advocacy stuff that we encountered, but it still was well worth the time. We also switched up web groups, which was nice since I was able to hear other people's opinions and thoughts. Shannon, Bailey, and Chnice all provided me with interesting thoughts and ideas on my posts and also gave me many posts and topics to consider.

  Tapped

Week 8 started off with the Tapped documentary. This was by far my favorite documentary that I have watched so far in this class. It really enhanced my knowledge about water, water rights, contaminants, BPA, chemicals, etc. I really have a strong interest in water and plastic bottles and the effect that they are having on our nation. I loved watching all the documentaries in this class because they provide a very realistic and enlightening view on some incredibly serious topics that we are facing. 

Junk, Junk, Junk

We talked quite a bit about junking and how to repurpose things that to some, might just be worthless and well, junk! We did junking projects and the above picture is what I created. It was part of a ceiling fan, one of the blades on it actually. My dad had just taken it down and was going to toss it out, so I grabbed one and repurposed it. It can be used to put pictures on or post it notes, or if I put in some hooks it can be used to hang keys on...lots of different purposes! This part of the class taught me that I shouldn't just toss something without thinking...it really can be put to good use.

Advocacy

And then we get into the advocacy part of the semester! While this wasn't my favorite topic in Environmental Health, I learned so much. I'm not very good at politics and laws and such, but working on my letter to my elected official really helped me see how important it is to know who our politicians are and how to approach them on an important issue. I really believe that the "fracking" issue that is going on is very real and needs to be addressed. Along with that, I have learned so much about BPA and what it is doing to our bodies. I recently read an article on BPA and how in March of 2012 the FDA will decide whether or not to ban it for good. That is one law that I truly hope gets passed. 

 

Photo Essay 

The Photo Essay was one of my favorite blogs to do. I really liked being able to portray how my family does things for the environment through pictures. It was a fun project and really opened my eyes as to how well my family uses what we have and is environmentally friendly. It was also really fun to see other people's photo essays...such a fun project!

Share And Voice

I really enjoyed this part of the semester. I found some great websites, articles and blogs through my searching. This was one of my favorite parts of Environmental Health. It was great to do this with my web group since I was able to learn so much through them. 

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of this post, what didn't we learn in this class?? Being in this class really taught me so much about myself, the environment, our world, politics and laws, and overall, how to be environmentally friendly! It was great to learn so much and I also was able to learn about myself as well as my peers. I hope continue to practice the concepts that I have learned in this class even though it's coming to an end. It truly has been an awesome experience to have taken Environmental Health!

Share & Voice: The Daily Green

 Turn down that thermostat!

The Daily Green is a really cool blog that I came across and wanted use for this Share and Voice. I spent awhile looking over this blog and it really contains some great information on the environment as well as up to date articles on what's going on in our world. I found this article on BPA and how by March of 2012, the FDA will decide whether or not BPA will continue to be allowed to be used in plastics and certain types of cans. I know this is an issue that all of us, as health educators, are concerned about. I certainly hope that the FDA bans the use of BPA, as it is a toxic chemical that can be leached into the body through use of a water bottle, for example. This is something that I have become more and more concerned about throughout this semester, so I certainly hope that the FDA makes the right decision to ban the use of BPA. There is also a section of this blog that focuses on tips and advice.  Simple things like turning off your computer when you aren't using it and turning down the thermostat can really help make a difference. Check out this blog for more great advice and articles on being environmentally friendly!

Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official

December 12th, 2011

Senator Herb Kohl
330 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 20510
Dear Senator Herb Kohl,



VOTE YES S.1215: THE FRACTURING RESPONSIBILITY AND AWARENESS OF CHEMICALS ACT

     I am writing this letter to strongly urge you to vote yes on The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act. The longer that this act does not get passed, the more water, air and land is being contaminated. By supporting this bill and voting for this act to be passed, you will be a part of making our world a safer place to live. People should not have to worry about whether the water they are drinking is clean and free from chemicals; not passing this act makes them do just that. 


     According to Food and Water Watch, there have been over a thousand documented cases of water contamination near drilling sites around the country. Is the money that the gas and oil industries making really outweigh the price of an individual's health? Along with the fact that "fracking" is not being regulated enough and that contaminants are being leaked into drinking water, "fracking" requires an incredible amount of water in the process. This can cause local water resources to be depleted of water that is essential and more important for other uses than "fracking". Passing S. 1215 will allow more extensive regulation of "fracking" which in turn could save lives and prevent drinking water contamination, along with air and land damage. 

     The major opponents of this bill are the gas and oil industries. I do understand that passing S. 1215 will cost these industries and the government an extreme amount of money. However, it all comes down to what is the right thing to do. Is it right to jeopordize lives in an effort to make or save money? I think it is safe to say that no one would say that money is more important than life. 

     I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter. Once again, I strongly encourage you to consider passing S.1215: The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemical's Act. Voting yes to this act is the right and ethical decision. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at 888-888-8888. Thank you again for your time. 


Ruthanne

Share & Voice: Mother Nature Network

For this Share and Voice, I decided to find a cool website that has information about the environment, going green, etc. I asked my roomate what she thought, since I knew she is always finding great ways to learn online. She suggested mother nature network...seriously, such a cool site! I could have spend hours on here. One of the links I came across was one of the top ten stories of the day. It's called Houseplants That Clean The Air.

Peace Lily

What a neat concept! The article talks about how while houseplants provide beauty and add to the quality of a room, they can also provide a very practical purpose. I never had heard that houseplants can help make the air in a house better and more clean by removing pollutants. Pretty cool huh? This website provides a TON of great information...I highly suggest checking it out. Enjoy!

Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

Facts About “Fracking” (Hydraulic Fracturing Process)

What is “fracking”??

• Fracking is used to extract natural gas buried in rock formations by injecting a fluid into the ground composed of sand, water and chemicals, some of which are toxic like benzene and toluene.
• This process is done by the gas and oil industry across the nation in order to efficiently obtain oil while making a profit.

So what about it?

• “Fracking” contains many chemicals that are harmful to humans and wildlife, and are linked to causing cancer.
• BUT, the gas and oil industry is the ONLY industry that is not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• According to the EPA, 70 to 40 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the US each year. But, it takes around 200 truck trips to transport only a million gallons of water.
• Hydraulic fracturing is depleting fresh water supplies, impacting the habitat that lives there and jeopardizing air quality, just to name a few.

Pass the FRAC Act

• The gas and oil industry will regulate the fracturing process more efficiently- disclose their chemical ingredients but NOT their specific formula for “fracking”
• Drilling by the gas and oil industry won’t be stopped, just better regulated
• The gas and oil industry will abide by the Safe Drinking Act, just like everyone else does

Sources: 

http://www.texassharon.com/2009/09/14/hydraulic-fracture-frac-act-wont-have-death-panel-for-industry/

http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/frac-act-re-introduced-in-congress-3-24-2011.html

 

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

I struggled a bit to come up with a topic for this photo essay blog! Since I'm back at home for a week, I wanted to do something here, but was having a hard time thinking up an idea. I really didn't think my family was all that environmentally friendly, so I decided to go on a little search to see what I'd find. I was pleasantly surprised! I would say that the topic of this photo essay is Ways to Be Environmentally Friendly. Cliche sounding I know, but, I feel like I was slightly narrow minded when it came to this topic. I tend to think of only the most common ways to be green, like recycling or not using plastic bags or water bottles, but it can be so much more than that if you open your eyes! So, here is what I found...enjoy :)

 

This is the apple orchard we have. Obviously, it doesn't look like much since it's the end of November, but instead of buying apples, we grow our own! My dad makes apple cider out of them and for Thanksgiving, I'll be making apple pie with them!

 

At my house, we heat with a wood stove. So, my dad goes out in our woods and uses the dead trees out there for firewood. Instead of buying wood, we use what we have on our land. 

 

Now, I know this just looks like a pile of cans. Which it is! But I didn't really think my family did a whole lot of recycling. While we don't recycle everything, we make an effort to recycle all the soda cans that we use. 

As I said before, we use a wood stove to heat out house. So, we don't just dump the ashes out, we reuse them. In the winter, our road can get icy, so we throw them on the road to prevent sliding around. It works great and is better than buying those toxic salts. 

This picture doesn't show a whole lot, but there's obviously no way I could get a picture of our well underground! We have an underground water well, so any water that we use comes from this. I think this is awesome, considering how much we've been talking about water in class. There are so many contaminants and chemicals in water that we are unaware of...I'm thankful that I don't need to worry about that when I'm at home! 

Mmmm salsa! One of my favorite things. The best part is that it's homemade, made with locally grown veggies and peppers. My dad has been making it for years and it is amazing! 

Now, this is for sure my least favorite picture but I thought I should include it still! It's frozen venison from the deer my dad just shot while bow hunting this past week. We had talked about in class how venison is so good for you since it doesn't contain any hormones or added junk. I thought it fit right in with this topic of being green and eating environmentally friendly. 

This is a picture of our garden. It doesn't look like much (same as the apple orchard) since it's the end of November. But this year for Thanksgiving we are using the potatoes from it to make mashed potatoes...so good! We also grow all sorts of other vegetables and herbs in it.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my photo essay blog. It actually turned out to be more fun than I thought it would be. It's amazing the different ways that we can be environmentally friendly without even realizing it! 

* Photo credit Ruthanne Juza

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Introduction:

The issue that this blog will focus on is the chemicals that are being mixed in with our drinking water and how the energy industry is opposed to allowing the public access to this information. The current legislation that has been proposed to address this is the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, (H.R. 2766),  also known as the FRAC Act.

Who is affected by the issue?

I believe that the people who are most affected by this issue are those that are consuming the water that is full of chemicals. Obviously, consuming chemicals unknowingly will cause harm, whether you realize it or not. It is unfair and wrong that people are drinking water that contains harmful toxins and they aren't even are of it. What is even worse is that industries that oppose making this knowledge public. As we all know, money is the major driving force behind this type of controversy.

So who loses in all of this and what exactly do they have to lose? Well, the people come first and what they could potentially lose is their health. Along with that, they are losing, in a way, their rights. We live in a country where people should have the right to know what is in their water, and the fact that we don't, is mind boggling to me. Obviously, the energy industry and drilling indrustry are also who would lose in all of this. People that live in areas where drilling is occuring could be consuming water that has chemicals in it, due to the hydraulic fracturing process. The energy industry plays a huge role in this as well, since they are the ones who would have to disclose the chemicals that they mix with the water and sand that they pump underground. Now, I know this all sounds a little confusing! But it's really pretty simple. Chemicals and toxins are being leached into drinking water through these processes of drilling and energy processes. If this act gets passed, the industries would be required to release whats known as trade secrets, their chemical information that is unknown to other industries. If the act would get passed, people would gain the information needed in order to better understand what they are putting in their bodies through their own drinking water. Perhaps, medical issues could be better understood and hopefully prevented.

What are the consequences of the issue?

The first and most important consequence of this issue is people's health. The consumption of chemicals is not healthy and can be detrimental to one's health. The people that are most affected by this issue are the ones that are unknowningly drinking water that may be contaminated and not good for them. ProPublica, which is an online journal, has published many reports that suggest that hydraulic fracturing could be the cause of water contamination in areas that have drilling operations happening. The EPA has not been able to conclude that fracturing is the cause of the water contamination, yet blames this lack of information of the fact that the 2006 Energy Policy Act does not require that hydraulic fracturing be a part of federal water laws. When I read this, I was really thrown for a loop. I don't understand how this can not be a part of federal water laws, when it is clear that the drilling industry is performing an operation that could be causing chemicals to be leached into invidiual's drinking water. It all seems a little twisted to me. Everyone is affected by this because everyone consumes water, one way or the other!

What is the economic impact of the issue?

The economic issues that surround this issue isn't too hard to understand. As I said before, money is the driving force behind so many issues in our society. The Independent Petroleum Association of America believes that states already do enough to regulate hydraulic fracturing. According to them, they believe that is would just be an additional and unecessary regulation. They would end up paying about $100,000 for this new regulation. Along with this, the Energy in Depth, a lobbying group, claims that the FRAC Act could potentially cause half of the Unities States oil wells and gas wells to be closed down. This is huge! Obviously, the gas and oil industries are the ones that would bear the brunt of the FRAC Act being passed. They would lose extreme amounts of money. The government would also sustain a major loss, since the oil and gas industry provide a huge amount of revenue. But, in the end, the economic benefits are not what is the most important. I understand that massive amounts of money will be lost and that it would cost money for this act to be put into place. But, if it saves lives and prevents people from consuming chemicals and toxins in their water, wouldn't it be worth it?

Social Impacts

 I struggled a little bit on how to answer this question. I don't feel that the social impacts play a very large role in this act. I believe that society would benefit from this act being passed, in the end. Yet, the fact that many people who work for the gas and oil industries could lose their jobs does cross my mind. This would certainly be a huge social impact for them and the families involved.

Barriers

The barriers are pretty easy to define. The gas and oil industries are the major and primary barriers when it comes to passing the FRAC Act. They are very opposed to passing this act, due the amount of money and jobs that would be lost. Another barrier would be the lack of information. This situation is one where the lack of knowledge is huge. I know that for myself, when I drink water, I never really stop and think what could potentially be in it? I think a way of overcoming this issue is spreading the word and getting people to understand the severity of it all. A way of overcoming the barriers with the industries could be to write letters and advocate for the cause.

Resources

The major resource needed is the money to pass the act. It would cost the industries more money to provide more intensive regulation of the chemicals and toxins that are being released when drilling operations are occurring. I'm not sure if this is even possible, but if there was a way that the government could provide the funding for the extra regulation, perhaps the industries would be more apt to let this act pass. On the other hand, the government will lose money due to the fact that many industries may have to be shut down. Money is the major resource behind this act and one that I'm not sure how it can be overcome.

History

There is not just one community that is being affected by this issue, due to the fact that drilling occurs in 31 states. The EPA has said that the hydraulic process is safe, yet water contamination has been found in more than a thousand places where drilling occurs. The FRAC was first introduced to congress in June 2009, was adjourned in January 2011, and was reintroduced in March 2011. So far, no decision has been made and the act is still in congress. Yet, there has been many court cases and lobbying that has occurred over this act.

Allies & Opponents

The people who would support this issue are those in charge of the act and also the people who are affected by the contaminants in the drinking water. The House bill was introduced by representives Diana Degette and Jared Polis, both Democrats from Colorado and Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat from New York. The Senate version of this bill was introduced by senators Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and by Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York. These states are all involved in drilling. Now for the opposing side. The ones who would oppose this act being passed are the oil and energy industries and those that support them. 

Advocacy Efforts

There have already been many lobbying events and court cases surrounding this act. I believe that this will continue until the act is either passed or denied. I know that all would agree that those who lose their jobs would be affected dramatically if this act was passed. I think that this is certainly common ground and that its an issue that needs to addressed more in depth. I don't think there is a win-win for this situation. If the act is passed, a great deal of money and jobs will be lost. If the act isn't passed, then people will continue to drink water that is contaminated. It almost seems like a lose-lose to me. 

My Recommendation

I want policy makers to vote yes on the FRAC Act. In the beginning, when I first did my research, I was sure that yes was the right answer. I still am, but with a little hesitation. I didn't realize the negative impacts that this act would cause. But, I still feel that peoples health and well being come before any amount of money. I say yes to voting on the FRAC Act.