Well, my time in Dr. Eisner's class has come to an end. While I am very ready for summer, I am a little sad to have completed the semester for the Crowded Greenhouse. It was definitely my favorite class of the semester! I really enjoyed learning all about the environment, as well as how and why climate change is occurring. It was also very interesting learning about population demographics and how those demographics can impact the environment. Overall, I think the part of class that has stood out the most for me was our activity with the ecological footprint. By plugging in my current lifestyle, I saw how irresponsible I was being in terms of taking care of our environment, and I have now decided to make some lifestyle changes that can help make a difference in protecting the world we live in. It was definitely a great class, but hopefully even better ones will follow!
This week Dr. Eisner asked us to discuss how, despite the United States' success in many areas such as climate change and environmental research, in others we are not doing so great. I chose to discuss infant mortality, which we had discussed some in class, and how our ranking is far from superior. Then, I came up with a few ideas of how to move ourselves up the list so that the U.S. wouldn't be ranked so low in terms of infant mortality. Although the United States is number one in some of the aspects of climate and the environment, we are lacking in terms of the health of our citizens. While I wasn’t surprised to learn that we were not leading in terms of infant mortality, I was shocked at how low we were on the list. I knew that because the U.S. lacks universal health care, there was no way that our country would be number one in terms of infant mortality. However, I did not expect to be number 54, beneath many countries that are not nearly as financially successful as we are. I think that the United States is so low on the list because we lack universal health care and there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor. There is a correlation between income and infant mortality because those with more money can afford health care if their child becomes sick; children born in poverty in the United States are more likely to die from illness because the treatments available in the U.S., while superior, are not available to all that need them. In addition, impoverished people are more likely to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol, which could result in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome among other birth complications, further creating a high infant mortality rate. In order to get the United States higher on the list in terms of infant mortality, I think that the best solution would be to provide universal health care. While this is by no means an easy feat, I think it would definitely decrease infant deaths because vaccines and medicines that are needed would be provided, regardless of income. In addition, however, I think that the United States should promote more family planning, especially in lower-income areas of our country. If fewer children were being born in financially unstable regions of the United States, then there would be fewer infants that are unable to receive health care. I am not sure whether or not these measures are possible to implement, but if they are I think that the United States would begin move up on the list and maybe even eventually become number one in terms of infant mortality. |
AuthorY'all know my name is Juliette. So I'm taking an honors class at Cincinnati called The Crowded Greenhouse, and it is basically about climate change and how it is being affected by population growth. As part of our assignments, we have to write blogs, so I thought I'd write them here! Archives
April 2013
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