Reflections: Weeks 8 - 14

I learned a lot during the second half of this class. We went through a lot of practical things that are good to know, and skills that will come in handy over the years to come.

We spent a lot of time talking about politics. We didn't cover it explicitly in class, but a lot of time was spent out of class working on the Advocacy Project. This project was to get us involved in a current political issue, and have us research this issue, and make a recommendation to our elected representative on the issue. I did my project on a bill that would provide monetary funds to developing countries for clean drinking water. I learned a lot about people when I was doing research for my project. I had no idea there were so many people without clean drinking water, and all the long-term effects that had on the people. If I could reclassify the project I would probably put it with the Eye Openers. Learning how to represent an issue to other people in the form of a fact sheet was a very important skill learned. Additionally, writing letters to our elected officials is a skill that everybody should practice.

One thing that I really enjoyed this year was the field trip to Goodwill. Although I got a little lost on my way there it was a great trip. I have shopped at stores like goodwill before, but I never knew about all the other things that Goodwill does. They keep millions of pounds of stuff out of landfills. They sell what they can in their stores, they sell in bulk some of the things they can't use to manufactures for up-cycling, and the rest gets recycled. And through all those processes people who would have trouble finding jobs gain valuable work experience. Goodwill is such a great place for both the people who work there, and the environment for having all that stuff reused or recycled.

The junking project was probably my favorite part of the semester. Junking is all about taking something that is otherwise relatively worthless, and turning it into something useful.  I had a great idea for my project. I took parts off of a broken ugly lamp, used hockey stick to replace the broken part, and had a nice lamp in the end. The project saved most of a lamp that was going to be thrown away, some broken hockey sticks that had no use, and now I have a Christmas present for my mother that cost me nothing.

Overall I learned a lot this semester. There were a lot of practical things that I discovered doing research for the various Share and Voice's and other projects. This was a great class, and the things I learned will stay with me for a long time.

Share and Voice: Outside Activities

The last couple weeks I have heard a lot about people who don't spend enough time outside, especially kids and young people. So I decided that I would look up some activities that we can do outside, or do with kids we know to help get them outside.

The fist activity I saw was really simple, it is called night eyes. A lot of people never go outside when it is dark out and enjoy nature. People think that you need a flashlight or other light on to be outside at night. But this is far from the truth. All you have to do is sit outside for a while, and your eyes will adjust themselves to the dark, and it is amazing what you can see. On a clear night with a bright moon you'll find that there isn't much you can't see. After enjoying being in the dark, you might find its a waste to be around outside with a light on.

One that I think would be great for kids is camping. Just camping in the backyard would work. There is no need to get in the car and drive for hours to find a place to spend the night outside. Pitch a tent in the backyard, make some s'mores, maybe have a campfire if you can. This is a great way to introduce young kids to nature, and spend some time away from the TV.

I did find one place that doesn't really fit in with the theme of getting outside, but it is a good one for teaching kids about the environment. The EPA website has a load of games kids can play online and learn about everything from recycling, to the story of groundwater. It is great for kids who might not have as much information on those types of things as they should.

There are many things that kids can do outside. All it takes is someone to give them a little nudge. Go for a bike ride, play some frisbee, anything that gets kids outside is just great.


More activities at
Wilderdom
EPA

Advocacy Project; Letter to Elected Official

December 12, 2011

Congressman Sean Duffy
1208 Longworth House Office Building,
District of Columbia 20515-4907


Please vote yes on House Bill 80 Global Water Access and Equity Act. This bill is important for the well being of millions of people in developing countries.


There is a problem with the quantity, quality, and accessibility of drinking water in developing countries. It would only take a few dollars from everybody to save so many lives. It is hard to convince people in these fiscally hard times to send money overseas, but this is well worth it.

 Every 15 seconds a child dies from a disease that could have easily been prevented just by giving them clean drinking water. That is 1.5 million children a year. How much is one child worth? Is it worth sending two dollars from each of us to save their lives? I think it is more than worth it.

 It is not just money being spent either. It is an investment. When people grow up to be healthy their live are completely different. Children who were sick can go to school. People who spent most of their day gathering drinking water can use that time to help other people. The amount of money that would be saved in the future over these people would be tremendous. Imagine a million people going to work, rather than being sick in a hospital. That is a double win.

There is a definite economic and moral advantage to sending money to provide clean drinking water in developing countries. I hope that you recognize and evaluate the benefits of this bill. Additionally I hope that you give House Resolution 80, Global Water Access and Equity Act your affirmative vote. If you have any question for me, or wish to discuss this bill further with me, I can contacted at 123-456-7890 or via email kenyo068@d.umn.edu

Share and Voice: Energy Conservation Project

I was looking for a project to tell you about when I kept stumbling on tips on how to save energy. And we all now that saving energy is good for the environment. So I thought I would share some of those with you. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know at my house everybody cringes when the utility bills come in the mail. So I think some of these tips will come in really handy.

1. Use power strips: Things like televisions, computers, gaming consoles, and stereos can use up to 25% of their total power when they are on standby. Plugging all these devices into power strips so you can completely cut the power off when you are not using can make a big dent in your energy consumption.

2. Only use full washer machines: This goes for both clothes and dish washers. Even it you set them at a small load setting you are still wasting water and electricity. Washers are designed to be most efficient when they are full. So save up your laundry until you have a full load, and keep the dishwasher off until you have it filled. On a second note about dish washers; most have a drying cycle at the end, and that is just the heating element running really hot to evaporate as much water as possible. You can stop the washer right before this cycle and let your dishes air dry, or use a towel, and save some electricity by not using that electric heating element.

3. Use Energy Star compliant appliances: When purchasing new appliances look for the blue energy star logo. These appliances are proven to be more efficient than other models. Although they might cost a little more up front, they will save over the long term with the savings on the utility bill. However, if your appliance works fine, you shouldn't go out and get a new one just to be more efficient. This will just put to waste the old one, although some of it may be  recyclable, you are still wasting resources, so wait until the one you have fails to invest in a new one.

4.Watch the windows: The average house spends about 30% of its utility bills on heating, and 17% in the summer for cooling. In the winter make sure all windows are closed snugly, and make sure the storm windows are closed also. Additionally you can put plastic over the inside to create another barrier for heat loss, affordable kits are available at all home improvement stores like Menards, and they will pay for themselves with the savings. In the summer use the breeze instead of the air conditioner to keep your place cool. You can open all the windows at night and then close them in the morning when it gets warmer out if you can't get a breeze moving through your house. Lastly, when you are running either the heater or air conditioner, leave the doors closed as much as possible to lessen your losses.

5. Insulate your water: Putting an insulation jacket on your water heater can reduce heat loss by up to 20%. You should also make sure there is pipe insulation on all the hot water pipes. If you have a gas water heater make sure it is properly ventilated, there is an air intake screen near the bottom by the pilot light, after you put put the insulation on it you might have to cut around that vent, proper ventilation will keep the heater running at peak efficiency.

6. Maintenance: There are a couple of simply things you can do to keep your heating and cooling systems running efficiently. Heaters have an air filter that should be cleaned or replaced according to the manufactures recommendation (usually every 90 days during heating season). Air conditioners have a screen and filter that should be cleaned at least once a year. If you are unsure of how to do these things try to find a manual for your product online, if you are still unsure call a professional to show you. There is no point in breaking something trying to clean a filter. Most refrigerators have a filter on the back or bottom, these are hard to get at but if you are ever doing some heavy cleaning you might consider vacuuming the filter. Some heating oil, gas providers, and electric companies offer pamphlets and tips on how to keep your appliances running properly.

The internet is full of resources for saving energy. Hopefully some of these tips will come in handy to save on your utility bill and help save some of the environment.

Resources:
WWF Energy Conservation
Genteq

Advocacy Project: Fact Sheet

My bill suggests sending money to developing countries to help provide clean drinking water to the people. You may ask why should we send money to other countries for water? Here are some humbling facts about drinking water in some developing countries.

A child dies every 15 seconds from diseases caused by a lack of safe water and sanitation, that's 1.5 million children dying from preventable diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid every year.

It is the second leading cause of child mortality, accounting for 15% of child deaths globally.

Today, one in eight people still do not have access to safe drinking water and more than half of the diseases in the world are caused by unclean water.

The average economic return on an investment in drinking water in developing countries is roughly $4.4 per $1 invested. This comes from savings in healthcare, and increased productivity from education.

Less than 50% of the population of the world has access to safe drinking water.

The lack of water is the primary cause of hunger, disease, and poverty in developing countries.
      Without water, crops and livestock die, leaving people to go hungry and become weak.
      Everyday, tens of thousands of people die from causes directly related to contaminated water.
      Without water, sick children lack the energy to go to school and learn.

More than 2 billion people are infected with helminthes, a soil-transmitted worm that nests in the intestines, and schistosomes, parasites that hatch in water, infect humans by penetrating the skin, and are passed in urine or feces.

According to the United Nations in its World Water Development Report, as many as seven billion people in sixty countries could face water shortages by the year 2050.

50% of the population in developing countries is exposed to polluted water.

As you can see here, there are many reasons why we need to help bring safe drinking water to developing countries. Also you can see that in the long run we will save big with productivity and lower healthcare costs.

 Resources:

Concern Worldwide
Global Water
Innovations for Poverty Action
Net Industries

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

I think that I will use the opportunity presented by this photo essay to tell you all about something that puzzles me. That issue is two things I commonly hear students here complain about; no where to park, and high gas prices. I have no sympathy for those who complain, because there are things they can do to avoid those things.

I could definitely drive to school everyday, but I don't. Why not? Because I can ride the bus. I ride the bus firstly because it is cheap, and secondly I know that it is good for the environment. I feel like the bus is overlooked by a lot of students.

This picture I took Monday morning stopping at the school. I noticed that it was only about half full, with about three fourths of the passengers being college students.  The bus that I rode just before this one pulled up had nine people on it and three got off at Kirby Plaza. Why don't more people ride the bus? Being a smart guy I would think that there is a relative reason, like its inconvenient or expensive.

 So then I got to thinking about the convenience of the bus. It must not be because there aren't enough stops because I see sign like this one all over town. The one that I stand by most often is actually less than one block from my house. Then I though that maybe it was because of the times the bus came by. But the bus I ride for my class at 8 every morning stops at my house at 7:37, and gets to the school at 7:48. I can't find much of anything inconvenient about that.

So then It must be because of the price that people drive instead of taking the bus. Lets look at just the price of parking at UMD.  A couple of my roommates have parking permits which they paid around $200 for. Or they can park in the lot shown below and pay each time they park, let's do some math from that sign; say you pay on your U-Card just 3 days a week for 15 weeks (one semester) and that come out to around $78.75. So that must mean that the bus is more expensive than these two options if all the parking lots fill up. Right? But wait, the bus is FREE. 

So maybe the reason why drive is because you can park so much closer to the door, and not have to walk so far. But this picture taken at 7:30 Monday morning when the this parking lot was just about half full, you couldn't even see the library door. And the bus drops you off literally 15 feet from the door. I stood at the entrance to this parking lot for a few minutes counting the cars that came in and I tried to determine how many had more than one person in them. I counted 25 cars coming in, and only one had more than one person in it, so I gave up on that idea.

So why is it that so many people drive to school? I understand that some people live off bus routes, or out of town so that is not an option for them, and some people have to drive for other reasons, but why do all the parking lots get filled? Why would you spend all that money on parking and gas, while doing your part to destroy the environment? Maybe somebody can help me out with understanding why more people don't take the bus. It is free, it save you the hassle of finding a place to park, and most importantly it saves all those emissions from entering the air we breathe. 

I hope that all of you will consider riding the bus if you don't already, and help talk your friends into doing the same thing. More information about bus schedules and routes can be found at the Duluth Transit Authority website.

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

The issue I am contemplating is the lack of drinkable water in developing countries. Lots of places are either without water, or without safe water. H.R.80 is legislation that aim to fix that. The Global Water Access and Equity Act will bring financial aid to countries that lack potable water.
There are two groups of people who are affected. There are the people who live in these developing countries, and also the American people who are the ones paying for the financial aid. Both parties are really the winners of this bill. The foreigners get clean healthy water to drink, and the taxpayers save in the long term by helping keep these people from getting sick.
If this bill is not passed there will be millions of people who cannot find water to drink. There will be children dying of water-borne illnesses. There will be people dying of dehydration all over. And all just because somebody wants to save a few dollars off their taxes. It wouldn't take much money either. If every American gave $3 a year, and there are 300 million citizens here, that would create almost one billion dollars of aid. Just a little bit from everybody would have a huge impact.
Some might say that this will create economic hardship for some people, but I would have trouble finding anybody who couldn't save $3 a year by not seeing that movie, or making your own dinner rather than eat out. And all of these people in developing countries can become productive members of society. Because they don't spend all their time being sick, or looking for water. Then they can start working in their communities, and make it a better place. So there you have both social and economic advantages. And the only disadvantage that I can find is the pockets the money comes out of, which is very minimal.
This bill is new, so there are not a whole lot of barriers yet. All that can be expected is getting the money, as money is short for everyone right now. But when other barriers arise as this bill moves through committees I will keep you updated.
The resources needed can be described as money. And where that money comes from is what the problem is. The funding for this bill will probably come out the the general fund, which is where your taxes go. Then that money will go directly to the developing countries.
This bill started with the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005. It is basically a restructuring of how the money is distributed, where it comes from, where it goes, and who decides those things. Without this bill the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 would essentially fall apart and become nonfunctional.
Everybody should support this issue, because it seems to be good for everybody. It keeps people safe and healthy, and therefore saves future money from trying to reverse health conditions from spreading. The ones who would oppose this bill are the ones who would rather keep the money for themselves. And it's not very much money they are keeping either, just about as much as a cheeseburger a year. But by explaining to these people how spending a little money now can save more in the future, and be an investment, rather than an expense, would be a win-win situation.
If our elected officials are smart, logical, compassionate individuals, they should pass this bill. It will bring safe water to many developing countries and perhaps millions of individuals so they can become productive members of society. All for just a small initial investment.