Reflection: Week 7 & 8

Reflections: Week 7 & 8

Week 7:

• This week started with an eye opener, titled Environmental Working Group.For my facial product, I chose Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. I found out that there not many concerns that is product is linked to, but that there are concerns about it that were not listed in the activity. I went further into research, and found what Vaseline had to say about their animal testing and did a little more looking around on Vaseline's website.
  

• We also watched a documentary titled "Green". It is a documentary created by a grad student, and is about the controversies along "Cancer Alley" which is a 100 mile stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All of the large corporations in this area are polluting the air, land and soil that many poor individuals and families find themselves having to live on, and try to raise healthy children. One fact that stood out to me about this that in some areas, the soil was contaminated 17 FEET under people's houses! This was causing many diseases and other health concerns to the people living in that area, and growing gardens for their families food supply. Worse of all, the people working at these companies believe they're doing their part at home because they have flower gardens and are providing a place for birds and other wildlife to retreat to.

Week 8:

• This week I was assigned the article review titled "Privatizating Water". Basically, this is an article that highlights the advantages and disadvantages of privatizing water. It also goes into detail some of the controversies certain areas of the country are facing, and clearly depicts a riot that broke out in the city of Chochabamba which is located in Bolivia. This reading was interesting to me because it stated that currently, there at 36 countries that have very minimal water supply and are using many different methods to preserve and catch their rain water. I was even more surprised when it continued to say that within the next 6 year, SEVEN more counties are going to join the rankings of having the least amount of drinkable water for their citizens. Something is wrong here...

• We also watched the documentary titled "Thirst" this week. Thirst is a documentary that depicts the real life issues, in our own country and throughout the rest of the world, about water privatization. It makes the watcher debate the question of "Is water a human right or a commodity to be bought and sold in a global marketplace?". When looking on the Thirst documentary website, I was shocked to read that "over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Each year, millions of children die of diseases caused by unsafe water. The numbers are increasing." How can we fix this? How can the diseases and deaths numbers be reduced? Since the Thirst documentary has been released, there continues to be conflict and disputes, only they are now more intense.