News Today

With all the protesting going on in China, the last thing the media publishes is about the comeback of coal.  More coal plantations were closed last year than were built, that is, except in China.  Most goal plantations in China were shut down due to pressures of being the world’s largest greenhouses gases emitters.  To stimulate the economy, coal and coal plantations are beginning to resurge.  The argument made is that China does not think about long term consequences restarting coal plantations will cause to the environment.  China has made a commitment to reduce their carbon footprint by 2030… 11 years away seems close enough to be worried if you ask me. 

Blog 26- Radiation

I am glad this is a topic for this week.  Radiation from cell phones, iPads, laptops, pretty much any electronic item is highly underrated.  As nurses I do not think we realize how much radiation we are surrounded by each day.  For example, nurses are forced to carry phones at work.  At my work, we use “old school” phones to contact each other, but in the coming months we are upgrading to using iPhones instead.  These phones carry and omit a lot of radiation.  Most of us sleep with our cell phones next to our head and spend hours talking on the phone with our phones in one ear.  This is direct contact and radiation to our brains.  We can preach to our patients about the dangers of radiation, but in reality, we expose them and ourselves to radiation almost every moment of every day.  This topic needs more attention.  More research needs to be done regarding the dangers associated with constant radiation (CANCER).

Blog 25- Greening Our Hospital

Heavy metal is considered a health risk.  Working in healthcare, we are exposed to heavy metal daily without even realizing it.  Heavy metal is in all batteries.  I work on a telemetry unit.  There are batteries located in the boxes which stay on the patient’s chests.  The batteries almost physically touch the patients while they are in our care.  Recently, my unit has also become a stroke unit.  There are batteries also located in the flashlights used to do neuro assessments located in every room.  This situation is similar to the nursing student described in the video.  We have places to dispose of the batteries, but what about while they are in such close proximity to our patients?  In addition, greening of disposing IV drips need to be addressed in my hospital.  We are trained to dump remaining fluid into the sink.  This can’t be safe practice, right?