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M14.4 Blog: Think About It - Website Exploration

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In the recent wild fire events, I have been thinking more about emergency preparedness. Though wildfires from shrubbery are not likely to occur in San Francisco, we still face the repercussions of these environmental events. The smoke was so heavy from the fire a hundred miles up north that it was unbearable to live in. I was thankfully out of the country for the whole duration of the event but I know of people who were taking trips out of the Bay Area just to get some fresh air. All of my family lives here in the city and it was challenging for me because I wanted to help but did not have the capacity to do so. They had a hard time understanding the severity of the situation and when they finally decided to look for masks, they were sold out in local stores. Additionally, they were using the wrong kinds of masks, which did not serve any benefit. The NCDMPH website is a great resource for the general public on natural disasters. They provide appropriate links for more information o...
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M12.9 Blog: Climate Change

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I find the how big the climate change problem is to be the most troubling. It involves all individuals in every country to take action for substantial change. Getting everyone involved is a huge task to undertake and because it is such a large task, it is scary. However, I think this is a bad way to look at it. We have to start small and make little changes as we go. As the most powerful nation in the world, we need regulations on products so that lower our emissions and produce biodegradable products. If we demand this from our factories, they will find a way to accommodate this. Additionally, we can provide assistance on updating their processes. I think the meat and agricultural industry need our biggest attention right now. We need to figure out sustainable ways to obtain our meat and produce. The chemicals used in insecticides are greatly polluting our environment. The antibiotics and feed we give our animals are slowly chipping away at our health. If I had to explain this to ...
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Final Blog!

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This course has been eye opening for me! I know that I will take the information from this course and apply it to my daily life. There have been recent news articles regarding the potential catastrophe of climate change if we do not start acting now, so this course has been very timely for us. I have started to make little changes in my daily routine already. I just bought safe, biodegradable sunscreen to wear during my vacation (thank you whole foods). I have also found myself to preach the things i learn in class to others. I also enjoyed the course readings and the module videos. The only thing that I would add is to have some class time or blog to discuss Silent Spring since this was on of our required readings.
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M11.5 Blog about a Zero Waste Life

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The video on having zero waste is jaw-dropping and inspiring. When she initially pulled out the jar of waste she had the whole year, I thought to myself: "That's a lie, that's not possible". However, as she began to explain her small changes through the years, I began to understand how living zero waste is possible. She addressed buy things in bulk now and shopping at farmers market to reduce waste. This is something that I am trying to do more of since I started this class. Shopping at farmers market and choosing sustainable choices is easier for me to do than making household products. I have heard of friends making their own toothpaste with charcoal powder so maybe I will give that a try. She made a very great point of starting small and slowly start making changes throughout your day-to-day life. This makes the change more manageable and less daunting.
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Blog: Watch M10.1 Video!

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One of my family members work in a grocery store where she works in the back kitchen preparing food and sometimes as the cashier. Both of these shifts have potentially hazardous occupational exposures. Working in the back kitchen exposes them to sharp objects and sometimes large machinery which could be harmful if not used correctly. Knives can be dangerous for obvious reasons, which is why cutting gloves should be provided to all employees working this shift. In the hierarchy of controls, it is nearly impossible to prevent employees from using knives when they are preparing food. Alternatives such as a plastic knife is ineffective. The most that the employers can do is provide PPE and provide proper training. Working as a cashier has it's own set of health exposures such as exposure to the BPA found in the paper. There are alternatives to this type of paper, but it costs alot more than the standard used. Wearing PPE such as gloves is very helpful in preventing high exposure leve...
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M10.8 Blog about an occupationally-related disease

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One of Cal/OSHA's work safety program focuses on the adult industry and keeping them safe from diseases such as HIV and hepatitis A/B/C, among many other diseases. This is often a taboo topic and it is certainly not one of first occupations people think of as having high occupational hazards. While most STIs can be treated fairly easily, there are some diseases that have more serious consequences such as HIV/AIDS and HEP A/B/C. Even those STIs easily treated, like chlamydia and gonorrhea, have potential to cause infertility. There is also the high risk of transmitting these infections among workplace partners. Cal/OSHA has helped create regulations that require production companies to enforce condom use during work. They have fined many companies large sums of money when they found the companies to be in violation of these regulations. They enforce regulations through the Bloodborne Pathogens standards, which requires employers to protect their employees using universal precautio...
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M10.5 Blog about an occupational safety and health organization

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I looked into California's Department of Occupational Safety and Health and the various safety programs they support. I looked further into the Valley Fever Safety program; I had never heard of Valley fever util reading it on their website. Valley fever is caused by a fungi found in the top 12 layers of soil in many parts of the state. There is no vaccine to prevent valley fever, but CAL/OSHA provides guidelines on ways to prevent contracting the illness. They encourage individuals to be proactive in assessing their workplace for exposure and encourages workers to report their symptoms to supervisors immediately. When a governing agency encouraging workers to report their illness to their supervisors, they feel more protected. They do not need to fear of repercussions they think will happen if their boss finds out that they grew ill while on the job.
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