Prior to our presentations this week, I was not was not aware of many of the issues discussed. My group did our presentation over the pollution of groundwater. I had known this was a problem prior to researching it, yet I didn’t realize how big of an issue. Groundwater contamination occurs when man made products make their way into the groundwater making it unsafe for human use and wildlife. The products that cause the greatest contamination are chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, as well as residues of oil or gasoline, chemicals spills from industrial operations or illegal waste dumping. There are also other causes for the pollution of groundwater, such as mining, road salts, or atmospheric contaminants that make their way into the ground. After thorough research I was able to discover 5 solutions in place to solve / prevent the issue: Legislation, Proper management of sources of pollution, Arsenic removal filters, The use of water cleaning systems, and recycling. There are many ways these solutions could come together and combine actions. Perhaps the most simple solution would be to have legislation pass a federal law stating that point of use treatment systems should be installed in any outlet that dispenses water for human consumption. Having this backed by federal law will force people to install point of treatment systems throughout homes and businesses. This could even be furthered by legislation reaching to other solutions as well. If legislation was to create a set of regulations governing landfills and other pollutants to the ground, we would be able to reach the issue on the front end as well as the back end. My learning community was able to give me some unique meditation ideas. One member says they sometimes stare at a lava lamp while meditating. This was a unique idea to me because my eyes often strange during meditation. I am not particularly a fan of staring at a lava lamp because my vision is already not great, no need to make it worse, but it could work with a number of things. The lava lamp could be substituted with an ant farm, fish tank, and much more. I have known about mindfulness for some time now. When I took facility management with Dr. Roberts, we would often start our early morning class with a short guided meditation. I had tried meditation prior but it never seemed to work for me. It wasn’t until I was able to listen to something guide me through the process before I realized a change. I practice mindfulness quite often, yet in a different way. Every night before bed I do yoga. It’s a guided yoga, with calming sounds. This is the time of day where I feel the most relaxed and in control of my mind, although it is not a guided meditation , it brings me peace on a busy day. Ultimately, when I reflect on our mindfulness assignment this week I think it was beneficial. However, meditation doesn’t work for everyone. Some people- like myself- prefer an alternative solution to getting in touch with their mind. This is something that each individual has to discover themselves.