Go Green. Live Green.

FIND OUT  Where are the sewage treatment facilities in your community?  There are three sewage treatment facilities in San Francisco. The first one is the Oceanside Treatment Plant. This facility is located in the Great Highway between Lake Merced and the San Francisco Zoo. The second facility is called North Point Wet Weather Facility. This facility is located in Bay Street and Embarcadero. The third facility is called Southeast Treatment Plant. This facility is located at Phelps Street in the Bayview District.

Blog about: If you were to develop a nationwide campaign to get people to drink tap water instead of bottled water, what would be your campaign slogan? Campaign Slogan: “Bottled Water Pollutes Earth. Tap Water Saves Earth.” I want people to realize that bottled water is bad for our environment. I want to educate them that bottled water doesn't really get recycled. I will tell them to watch "The Story of Bottled Water" to know the whole story about how bottled water is polluting our environment and how corporations are manipulating us into buying their bottled water. People need to know that they can reduce pollution by using tap water.

Consumer Confidence Reports  (CCR): San Francisco Regional Water System Answer the following questions: What is the source of your drinking water?   Where does your water ORIGINATE?  (It is treated at a water treatment plant, but what watershed or aquifer is the sources of the water?) The source of my drinking water is the San Francisco Regional Water System. The water originates from spring snowmelt flowing down the Tuolumne River that goes into storage in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The Hetch Hetcy Reservoir has two watershed sources: Alameda Watershed and Peninsula Watershed.  The water from these watersheds are treated in the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant. What chemicals were found in your water that were higher than expected? The chemicals that were found in the water that were higher than expected are chromium, trihalomethanes, and copper.   What chemicals did you NOT expect to find in your water? I didn’t expect to have fluoride, lead, and...

After watching the “Water Facts” video, I realized that there is a possibility that water on Earth will run out or it will be too polluted for people to drink. The video showed that places like the Aral Sea, once Asia’s largest lake, and Mexico’s groundwater are either drying up or depleting. Aside from people’s consumption of water, we also use water to sustain energy, agriculture, and industry. Basically, we are alive because of water. Before the Clean Water Act of 1972, only one-third of the nation’s water was safe for swimming and fishing. Water was really polluted back then and it was not safe for people to drink. The Clean Water Act of 1972 is really important because it regulates point source pollution, nonpoint source pollution, and infill material point source pollution. It prevents water contamination caused by factories and sewage treatment facilities. The Clean Water Act of 1972 main purpose is to restore and maintain the quality of our nation’s water. In addition, the law ...

National Awareness Campaign: Radon Steps on how to develop a national awareness campaign: Step 1: Create a mission statement Step 2: I will ask some friends to help me out. I will contact some health organizations and public health professionals in the community and ask them to join and help me in campaign. Step 3: Create a fact sheet and distribute it in the community Step 4: Create posters and post them in public areas Step 5: Use social media like Facebook and Twitter Step 6: Join health fairs Step 7: Meet with people in the community, listen to each other, exchange ideas, and talk about the next step. The next step can be signing a petition and talking to a representative about the health hazards of Radon.

Ideas of an ideal chemical/fragrance policy Before drafting a policy, I will research about toxic chemicals and learn about the potential health hazards of each one. Then, I will research about common personal care products that contain toxic chemicals like fragrance. I will conduct an assessment by giving out survey in schools, workplaces, and in other institutional settings. It is important to know their knowledge about toxic chemicals and its health hazards. It is also important to collect opinions and suggestions from people in these institutional settings. This will help me develop an appropriate fragrance-free policy for each setting. For people to follow the policy, I think it is crucial for them to understand the importance of the fragrance-free policy and know the possible consequences if they don’t follow the policy, especially in a hospital setting. Hospital employees need to understand that some people can experience adverse health effects from products that has f...

  I live in a busy downtown of San Francisco. Most of the time, I used public transportation because it’s more convenient. My morning exercise is walking to the muni station to catch my train going to my work. I think the availability of public transportation in San Francisco helps increase people’s physical activity and reduce motor vehicle accidents. I like it when the government encourages people to use public transportation. For example, the commuters get free rides on Spare the Air day. Furthermore, the government are really trying to improve the public transportation services. In 2014, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency painted the transit lanes in red with the support of the federal government. I think this is great because the buses and taxis have their own lane. I think it improved the service speeds of buses and reduced traffic collisions.            In the downside, sometimes the traffic can be bad especia...

Website: The Pollution Information Site URL: www.scorecard.org 94105 = San Francisco County Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code? In my zip code, the top polluters are the San Francisco Drydock Inc., Chevron Prods Co. San Francisco Terminal, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Hunters Point Power Plant. What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint? There are 7% of homes in my zip code that have lead-based paint. Are there Superfund sites in your zip?  (In your BLOG, make sure to tell us what a Superfund Site is) According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a Superfund site is a land contaminated by hazardous waste. In result, the Environmental Protection Agency put this site in a list that needs to be clean. In my zip code, there’s only one Superfund site which is the Treasure Island Naval Station-Hunters Point Annex. What can you tell us about the Superfund sites that are near where you live? The Treasure I...

Social determinants of health are conditions in the environment where people live and work and these conditions can influence people’s health in a positive or negative way. From what I read, environmental justice is the fair treatment of all people regardless of their race, social status, or income level when it comes to getting protection from environmental health hazards and being able to live in a healthy environment. Each community need to achieved environmental justice so people can live a better and healthier life. Therefore, people in poor communities need to be protected from toxic waste sites, garbage-burning incinerators, oil refineries, and landfills. The government needs to help people who live in poor communities to find solutions for environmental and health hazards that exist in their community. People in poor communities need to work together and voice out the environmental hazards found in their community. The “Black Lives Matter” movement is one example of a group of...

After watching the video of Rishi Manchanda, I totally agree that we need to improve health where it begins. Health begins in our home, work, and community. For example, the video showed a woman who kept going to the emergency room for a chronic headache then she found out that she actually have chronic allergies. In the video, the health professional said that her chronic allergies were caused by the poor condition of the place she lives at. Therefore, it is important to have upstreamists, healthcare professionals who work on improving the social and environmental conditions that are causing people to get sick. These healthcare professionals can mobilize resources to create a solution.             In addition, we need to educate ourselves about toxic chemicals that can be found in our home, household and personal care products. From the “Little Things Matter” video, I learned that toxins can have a lifelong impact on children. F...

Lab Results from Blood and Urine Samples The following chemicals were found at levels for which there are no “safe” levels Chemical(s) Potential Health Effects  Dioxins Carcinogen, endocrine disruptor, cognitive disfunction DDT  Reproductive toxicant Organophosphate (pesticide) neurotoxicant, Parkinson’s Lead Neurotoxicant, kidney toxicant, insomnia, impotence Solvent Liver toxicant, neurotoxicant PCBs Carcinogen, toxic to immune, neuro, and repro systems Phthalates Repro toxicant (infertility), testicular damage, endometriosis, endocrine disruptor I’m utterly shock and speechless to find out that the doctor found the chemicals listed above in my body. I’m really concern about the potential health effects of the chemicals that were found in my body. I want to find out the products that I used that have these toxic chemicals so I can stop using them. I want to be aware and educate myself about these chemicals. In addition, I feel angry and disappointed th...

  In addition to our personal care products, I think it’s also important to know the ingredients and the health effects of our household products. By using the National Library of Medicine's Household Products Database, I learned about the possible health effects of the two household products that I use at home.        The first product that I looked up is the Comet Multi Room Disinfectant Cleanser with Bleach, Lemon Fresh. With high exposure to the product, I learned that people will have coughing or irritation of nose and throat. The other acute health effects are temporarily eye and skin irritation, and gastrointestinal irritation if ingested orally. I was surprised to know that the disinfectant cleanser has a chronic health effect. According to the Household Products Database, the calcium carbonate ingredient of the product contains small amounts of crystalline silica (quartz) which can reduced lung function if the person was exposed excessively. After fi...

 I think it is important to be aware about the ingredients of the product that we use for ourselves to protect our health and the environment. In the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database, I looked up two products that I use.        The first product that I looked up is the Freeman Feeling Beautiful Facial Clay Mask, Avocado & Oatmeal. I was really surprised that the product’s toxicity rating is seven which means it’s a high hazard product. The three ingredients of the product that have a high hazard score are fragrance, propylparaben, and methylisothiazolinone. According to the website, the fragrance and methylisothiazolinone are human immune system toxicant or allergen and harmful to the environment. It can also cause skin, eyes, or lungs irritation. The third ingredient, propylparaben, is also a human immune system toxicant or allergen . In addition, propylparaben is a human endocrine disruptor. I looked up the explanation of a human endocrin...