July 8 Ecosystems and Deep Ecology

• What do you think about the “eight-point Deep Ecology Platform”?
• Can you explain why “Ecosystems are both strong and fragile”?
• How would you assess the “end goals” of Social Ecology?

I think its great! I know some people may see it as radical and far-reaching, but I think we need to dream about our ideals way before they're possible. Things need to be dreamed in order to come to reality, we have to push for the future we want even if it seems so at odds with the likely future if humans keep acting so foolish

Life is strong and fragile. We can survive heartbreak, poverty, cancer, getting hit by a bus, etc, but then maybe we trip while walking down an icy sidewalk and die. Ecosystems are reflective of that. We are flexible and strong, but we do have breaking points. Nothing can be strong forever. 

July 31 - Biophysics - Energy Medicine and Energy Fields

• Acupuncture as effective energy medicine
• What conclusions can you draw from Kirlian photography
• Human intent as it affects health

I believe acupuncture is effective energy medicine - that's why I'm studying it! It's funny how there's this disconnect in our culture, where we are very science-based, and the hard sciences are telling us that everything is literally made of energy, interacting w each other on visible and invisible levels, and most ppl accept these findings as true. But when healers say they believe that healing has to happen on an energetic level, its often scoffed at. What's up with that?

I'd never heard of Kirlian photography before this class, its interesting. I know people who see auras so I definitely believe it/them. I don't really see why we couldnt capture the energy around someone/something with the right tool. And I think its silly that some thought it was discounted because it was still capturing the glow around a leaf that had been broken/died. I think it totally makes sense for something that is dying/dead to still be giving off energy

I do think intention matters, though I also think that impact matters more than intent. When it comes to healing, I think that everyone is capable of affecting others with their intentions, and some people who are healers learn how to channel that effect and make it stronger

Biochemistry - Week Thirteen - The Body's Ecosystem

Examine your own diet for the coming week and use the four NOVA Food Classifications to report on your findings in your blog.

- This was not the best week for me to be tracking my diet! I'm in a marathon of finals, so I've mostly been grabbing whatever I can get. However, even with the extra stress I didn't eat much from group 4. My worst offense was ice cream - definitely ultra processed, whoops. I also ate quite a few bagels this week. My family cooks a lot and gets a CSA share, so I'm lucky to have a lot of unprocessed or low-processed meals available at home. 

Researchers have identified some 700 microbial species that inhabit the human mouth” 

- Thats just another reminder of how we have more non-human cells in our bodies than human cells - so wild! 

July 29 - Biology - Vaccination

Ø    Should “parents take a more active role in designing their children’s immunization schedule”?

Ø    Would you support making vaccination programs “compulsory”?

- I'm not sure about the first point. I'm a little torn because I think that vaccines are necessary and life-saving but I'm not convinced we need to give babies multiple vaccines in one day. I feel like a big part of that is probably convenience for the producers of vaccines and doctors, whereas it could be healthier/less emotionally and physically traumatic for a baby to get them each on different days. 

- I do support making vaccines compulsory. They already practically are, and the rates of so many life threatening diseases have plummeted because of this. When I was younger I was friends with some militant health-craze types who said that vaccines are poison and cause all sorts of disease, and I was impressionable and thought they might be right. But through my own research and through being friends with many immunocompromised and autistic people, I've learned that vaccines are completely necessary