Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

1. My SMART goal was to decrease my tobacco usage to three smokes per day. And yesterday I smoked zero ciggarets and today I only had one smoke. That may seem like a setback but I think it’s a huge improvement! I can can can do this!
2. I continued to use the patch and kept myself busy when I had the urge to smoke. I also wrote out the reasons I wanted to quit and looked at them everyday (even on the days I decided to smoke). The biggest challenge was when my mom who smokes came to visit and we had drinks on my birthday. I totally botched that day but got right back on the horse after she left. I also had to distance myself from my friends who smoke because that is a trigger for me.
3. When my friends went out to smoke I felt excluded so instead of moping I did something productive, like dishes or laundry while they were out.
4. I learned that if I set my mind to something I can do it! Everyone has been really supportive and even my smoker friends have been really cool about it. One says she wants to quit too now!
5. My goal for this week: I will finish with Step 2 of the Patch in order to be completely smoke free by Dec. 1st

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Introduction

• What is the issue/problem? The issue I have chosen to focus on is the under-regulation of potentially harmful chemicals that go into products the general public uses everyday (most specifically chemicals in baby formula).

·          What current legislation has been proposed to address this? S.3209 : Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 (introduced in the senate)

Who is affected by the issue?

• Who is affected the most? The people who are affected the most are the highly susceptible population, most specifically children and women of childbearing age.  
• Who loses, and what do they lose? Women and children end up on the losing end because some chemicals they are exposed to can cause birth defects, developmental delays and cancer.  
• Who gains, and what do they gain? The ones who gain the most are the companies that are allowed to use these chemicals; they are able to increase their profit margin because the potentially harmful chemicals are often inexpensive compared to the safer alternatives. Also the corporations save money because they are in charge of reporting on the safety of the chemicals they use, and in most cases this means the data the corporations submit is inaccurate.

What are the consequences of the issue?

• For the individuals mostly affected? Major consequences include high medical bills, major lifestyle changes to accommodate their child with special needs. And for the women who are unable to conceive, the emotional conflict is often overwhelming.
• For their families? The families are often the caretakers and support system for those people affected by the affects of these chemicals
• For society? As a society we foot the bill for high medical costs, we also suffer the loss of a potentially productive member of society, and we are subject to the harmful affects of these chemicals.

What is the economic impact of the issue?

• What are the economic costs of the issue, and who bears these costs? Economic costs include medical bills, loss of productivity, and higher prescription costs. Also special education, and accommodations for children and a variety of therapy treatments for mothers and children.    
• What are the economic benefits of the issue, and who benefits? The economic benefit it limited to cheaper products for consumers and the upper middle class has more disposable income that supposedly stimulates the economy.   

What is the social impact of the issue?

• What are the social costs of the issue, and who bears these costs? The social costs to developmentally delayed children include but are not limited to the stigma of being “different”.
• What are the social benefits of the issue, and who benefits? I cannot really see to many benefits to this issue, buesides the issue sparks debate thus bring light to the issue and getting it into the public eye.  

What are the barriers?

• What are the barriers to addressing this issue? The barriers to addressing the issue are that spending more money to fix a problem is not popular in the public eye and that there are not very feasible ways to regulate chemicals.
• How can they be overcome? By involving politicians and policy makers we can overcome barriers.

What are the resources?

• What resources will we need to address this issue? We need public support, which means that the populations feel susceptible to the affects of the chemicals. Also we need to involve the policy makers and politicians.
• Where and how can they be tapped?  By writing letters and visiting politicians, and advocating for the issue we can tap into these resources.  

What is the history of this issue?

• What is the history of the issue in the community? This has been around for a long time the first act specifically related to this issue was first passed in 1976 to cover policies that were overlooked by other food and environmental safety acts.
• What past efforts were made to address it? The regulations of food, drugs and cosmetics acknowledged that there are issues with potentially harmful chemicals.
• What were the results? The other acts were successful but there is always room to improve upon these acts to insure the safety of the public.

Allies & Opponents

• Who would support this issue? Environmentalists, Democrats, Upper-class women and Health Educators are most likely to support this Act.   
• Who would oppose this issue? Republicans, Corporations, and lower income families would probably oppose this act.  
• How can you involve allies and opponents in advocacy efforts? (What common ground can you share? How can you create a win-win for your allies and your opponents?) Involving both allies and opponents is difficult but if there is a way to cut funding from outdated projects and apply it to this act I think there would be little opposition from either side. This question will require further research.

Your Recommendation

• How do you want policy-makers to vote on this proposed policy? I recommend that policy-makers vote YES to S.3209!