Food & Energy Abundance
Good news! Global warming and world hunger have been eliminated—at least in theory. As reported in Scientific American, energy experts show how to get all energy from wind, water, and solar by 2030 and save money, too!
More good news! Food experts have devised plans for high-rise farms with the capacity to feed our planet's projected 9.5 billion human inhabitants. The world's population is now at 6.8 billion, with 1.2 billion near starvation.
Why are such obvious solutions resisted? Greed? Ignorance? Fear? Apathy? In reply to skeptics, Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman makes a powerful case for pursuing enlightened self-interest: "If we prepare for climate change by building a clean-power economy, but climate change turns out to be a hoax, what would be the result? Well, during a transition period, we would have higher energy prices. But gradually we would be driving battery-powered electric cars and powering more and more of our homes and factories with [alternatives]. We would be much less dependent on oil dictators who have drawn a bull's-eye on our backs; our trade deficit would improve; the dollar would strengthen; and the air we breathe would be cleaner...."
SOURCES: New York Times, December 9, 2009.
Scientific American, November, 2009.
Apocalypse Fatigue? Try Our News Diet!
Global Warming! War! Bankruptcy! Cancer! Is the news scaring you to death? Are you living in fear of the next catastrophe? Several health experts recommend a going on a news diet. Our solution isn't to eliminate all news—although a temporary "news fast" can be a great stress reliever—but to substitute quality for quantity.
Our recommended news diet goes sparingly on crime reports (scary), entertainment news (empty content), and talking heads commentary (too much spin, too few facts).
Too much "news" is junk, irrelevant and intentionally stress-inducing just to hold your attention through the next commercial break. These "news Twinkies" are empty calories, so limit your intake accordingly. Ask yourself: Do I really need to know about this? Will I care about it in a week? Avoid bloviated, "know-it-all" commentators, "bleed and burn" leads, and salacious gossip—unless you really, really do care that Tiger Woods is dating Sarah Palin. (Just kidding. We think....)
If you're still feeling overwhelmed, limit yourself to one hour of news per day. Watch the PBS News Hour or BBC World News or listen to Amy Goodman or read the NY Times or Huffington Post for big stories. Go "news free" on weekends.
Still stressed? Skip news on weekdays and catch up with succinct weekend summaries. A fast read is The Week, an excellent print magazine summarizing news and views from hundreds of sources.
Read your local papers for matters pertaining to local elections, zoning issues, and the like, but don't obligate yourself to read every story. Skip the seductive but frivolous faux-news that can actually distract you from tracking the truly important issues: war and peace, global warming, healthcare and poverty, and corporate shenanigans.
Still want that news fix? See OPEN EXCHANGE's website for alternative news and media watchdogs.
SOURCE: http://www.openexchange.org/features/Keep/Media.html
Post-Copenhagen Political Climate
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO met in China last November and again at the Copenhagen climate conference in December. The US and China agreed in principle to fight climate change by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, but powerful economic forces within both countries resist mandating strict limits.
The international climate agreements forged at Copenhagen could be the start of a Post-Industrial Revolution, putting civilization on a path toward a sustainable, carbon-free future. But will these non-binding agreements be ignored?
Addressing the climate conference, President Obama stated boldly, "America is going to continue on this course of action no matter what happens in Copenhagen. But we will all be stronger and safer and more secure if we act together."
Barack Obama has been described as an incrementalist, a progressive at heart nevertheless willing to accept a slower pace of change than many of his supporters would prefer. Obama has been known to quote Voltaire in counseling compromise, not letting "the perfect become the enemy of the good." This echoes the sentiments of Obama's mentor, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who would craft legislative compromises with a familiar homily: "Half a loaf is better than none."
Horse trading may work with healthcare legislation or education or the defense budget, but splitting the difference doesn't necessarily make sense with respect to climate change. You don't argue with fire and flood any more than you'd negotiate with the law of gravity. Some of world's the best climatologists insist that greenhouse gases must be reduced at least 80% by 2050. Anything less means melting icebergs, coastal flooding, super hurricanes, widespread inland drought and uncontrollable wildfires—with the inevitable political upheaval.
Converting the world's economies from fossil fuels to renewables is doable but will require an up-front investment of hundreds of billions of dollars and unprecedented international cooperation. It will also require rich countries to provide financial aid and new technologies to the developing world. Will Obama and the US Senate, along with the leaders of China, India, and the European Union—the countries most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions—make good on their pledges? Stay tuned...
2012 Doomsday Postponed
Is our planet about to be ravaged by earthquakes, tsunamis, dust storms, and cosmic swarms? Does December 21, 2012 signal Doomsday or is it just another Y2K false alarm? NASA scientists and many in the new age movement seem to be in agreement that the end of the Mayan long-count calendar is not necessarily the end of the world!
According to NASA, no cosmic events will threaten the earth in 2012. There are no special planetary alignments, Earth will not cross the galactic plane, and even if these alignments were to occur, their effects on the Earth would be negligible. Each December the Earth and Sun align with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy but that is an annual event of no consequence. Astronomers would have already spotted any dark stars, Planet X's or other celestial bodies large enough to be destroy Earth, so rule that out, too. The Earth has always been subject to impacts by comets and asteroids, although big hits are very rare. The last big impact was 65 million years ago, and that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. NASA scientists also rule out major changes in rotation, magnetic reversal, and solar storms.
Daniel Pinchbeck, bestselling new age historian, isn't predicting doom but doesn't rule out the possibility, either. He believes the Mayan people were onto something in making their current calendar end on December 21, 2012. He suggests that the real significance of 2012 ultimately will depend on how civilization responds to it, on whether or not we continue provoking nature's wrath.
"My feeling of 2012 is that we don't know what it's going to be. So rather than looking at it as Doomsday, we can see it as an opportunity to evolve and become more creative and more intelligent as a species on the planet and use the skills and technical capacities we have to engage in a very deep work transformation."
Folk historian Irv Thomas lends this perspective, "I don't consider the Mayan scenario as a doomsday prospect. I think there could be whole levels of reality beyond our perception or conception. After all, had we not the technology that utilizes radio and TV, we'd never know it was buzzing all around us. So how do we know what wavelengths (or comparable) we might be non-attuned to?"
Positively upbeat, Da Vid, MD, Founder of The Light Party in San Francisco, sees 2012 as an invitation to "ascend" to a new level of human evolution:
"We, humanity, are now passing through a gateway in our psycho-spiritual development. We have now come to a turning point in our evolution.... We are now experiencing a progressive transformation of consciousness, which is leading inexorably to a time where 'There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there by any more pain; for the former things are passed away.'
"The keys to our collective liberation, our ascension, are faith and applied knowledge, along with the determination and forbearance to follow our intuitions and inspirations. Now is the time to celebrate our Ascension into a Golden Age."
As Carlos Barrios summarizes, "The change won't happen exactly on [December 21, 2012] because it's not changed like a flash of light... [This] is just the beginning.... It will take years...."
Before taking any Mayan prediction too literally, consider that the Mayan civilization probably died out because of urbanization, unsustainable agricultural practices, and the unwieldy costs of maintaining a military empire. There are no historical or geological records of cosmic collision or UFO attack or vengeful gods. For all the Mayan's scientific and mathematical genius, they may have succumbed to the very same threats that we now face in the 21st century.
SOURCES: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://www.canada.com/2012+scholar+predicts+cataclysm/2268757/story.html
http://www.13moon.com/prophecy%20page.htm
http://lightparty.com/Spirituality/AscensionGuide09.html
Almanac of World History, National Geographic.
How to Live to 100
Those born after the year 2000 are more likely than ever to live to 100, according to new research from Denmark. Good news for the kids, but what about us grown-ups?
Genetics play a big factor, somewhere between 20% and 50%, depending on the experts you ask. That still leave over 50% up to you! Walter Bortz II, MD, a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford, suggests how you can improve your odds of a long and happy life:
- Bulk up on fruits and veggies, +5 years (Plant-based whole foods diets reduce disease.)
- Exercise five days a week, +2 to +4 years (Move and elevate your heart rate for a half-hour a day, minimum.)
- Reduce stress, up to +6 years (From meditation to music to movement to art therapy, find what works for you.)
- Get a hobby, +2 years (Provides a sense of accomplishment.)
- Floss, +6.4 years (Removing harmful bacteria reduces stroke and heart attack risks.)
- Vacation, +1 to +2 years (Leisure is a great stress reliever!)
- Sleep seven to eight hours nightly, +2 years (Sleep assists cell repair.)
- Have Sex, +3 to +5 years (Releases feel-good hormones and burns about 200 calories, too!)
SOURCE: Health, December 2009.
More Healthy Life Extension Habits
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England followed 20,000 middle-aged men and women in England for 11 years and found that nonsmokers with the healthiest eating and exercise habits had a 14-year-life-expectancy edge over the people with the worst habits. This followed a 2001 Loma Linda University finding that Seventh-Day Adventists who kept good habits lived to an average age of 88 versus 78, a 10-year bonus for healthy living!
If you've won the genetic lottery, "There's nothing stopping you from living independently well into your 90s," says Thomas Perls, life extension researcher at Boston University School of Medicine. Again, how you live your life can improve your odds:
- Don't retire. "Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement," says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. But if you do quit your job (or your job quits you), don't retire from life. Volunteer! Participate in social and church activities.
- Be a creature of habit. A steady routine is good for your health. "Your physiology becomes frailer when you get older," explains Ferrucci, "and it's harder for your body to bounce back if you, say, miss a few hours of sleep one night or drink too much alcohol." This can weaken immune defenses, leaving you more susceptible to circulating flu viruses or bacterial infections.
- Make friends. Social contacts help you avoid getting depressed and withdrawn. And friends look out for you, too. "They'll tell you if they think your memory is going or if you seem more withdrawn," says Perls, "and they might push you to see a doctor before you recognize that you need to see one yourself."
SOURCES: http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/06/centenarians-exercise-diet-personal-finance-retirement-live-to-100.html
http://health.yahoo.com/featured/7/10-health-habits-that-will-help-you-live-to-100/
Seven Signs You Just Might Live To 100
There are no guarantees, of course, but the following behaviors correlate with long life and give you a better chance of reaching 100:
- You're an extrovert
- You're not easily stressed
- You run at least 5 hours a week
- You eat bran or other fiber-rich meals
- You feel 13 years younger than your age
- You embrace techie trends
- Women: You start menopause after age 52.
SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32272813/ns/health-aging/
How To Live... Forever???!!!
Following his father's premature death from heart disease, tech entrepreneur and futurist Ray Kurzweil decided to study longevity with a passion. His research led him to adopt a low fat diet, an exercise regimen, and targeted supplements.
More recently Kurzweil and life extension colleagues have been promoting the concept of eternal life, courtesy of the wonders of modern medicine. From age defying drugs to gene splicing to organ replacement, their collective goal is to delay the "day of reckoning" indefinitely. Says Kurzweil, "We are very close to the tipping point in human longevity. We are about 15 years away from adding more than one year of longevity per year to remaining life expectancy."
Adds Kurzweil, "Health and medicine will be a million times more powerful in 20 years." Meanwhile, you've still got to exercise and eat well and avoid fatal accidents, of course!
Kurzweil's positively rosy scenario raises a host of new questions. What will society be like when most people are hundreds of years old or older? Will there be room for everybody? Will immortality be available mainly to the rich? Will religion disappear along with the concepts of "Judgment Day" and "afterlife"?
SOURCES: Metro Silicon Valley, Dec 2-8, 2009.
Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever by Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman.
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Best Ways To Sharpen Your Mind
Improving memory and avoiding dementia as you age is a concern, well, as old as the ages. As Roman orator Cicero put it, "It is exercise alone that supports the spirits and keeps the mind fit."
Modern research extends Cicero's claim, also demonstrating that good nutrition, cognitive training, and aerobic exercise can certainly reduce, if not halt cognitive decline.
Everyday activities such as reading can help older adults maintain memory and vocabulary. But those who exercised most actively—running as opposed to stretching and toning—slowed mental decline by as much as 30 percent.
Cicero was right! Make exercise the habit of a lifetime!
SOURCE: Scientific American Mind, July/August 2009.
Junk Food Addiction
Having trouble with that junk food jones? A new study proves that salty, sweet, fatty processed food may be as addictive as heroin. Researchers from the independent Scripps Research Institute found that junk food elicits addictive behavior in rats similar to heroin addiction. Results were presented last October at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Researchers offered one group of rats a broad range of processed food, from bacon and cheesecake to Ho Hos, while another received a "high-nutrient, low-calorie chow." Rats that ate the junk food soon developed compulsive eating habits and became obese, consuming twice the amount of calories as the control rats.
After just five days on the junk food diet, rats showed "profound reductions" in the sensitivity of their brains' pleasure centers, suggesting that the animals quickly became habituated to the food. As a result, the rats ate more food to get the same amount of pleasure. Pleasure centers in the brains of addicted rats became less responsive as the binging wore on, making the rats consume more and more food. Just as heroin addicts require more and more of the drug to feel good, rats needed more and more of the junk food. "They lose control... the hallmark of addiction."
And here's where things get ugly. The rats wanted their junk food fix so badly, they were willing to tolerate electric shocks if that's what it meant to keep eating the stuff.
Eating junk food may even be a predictor of future obesity. "We might not see it when we look at the animal," says Ralph DiLeone, Yale University obesity expert . "They might be a normal weight, but how they respond to food in the future may be permanently altered."
So much for "choice" when making healthy food choices. The junk food makers think they've got consumers by the Ho Hos. You could be addicted!
SOURCE: http://www.grist.org/article/scientists-claim-junk-food-is-as-addictive-as-heroin
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Yoga Encourages 'Mindful Eating'
Yoga may give you an edge in appetite control compared with other forms of exercise, according to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Their survey found that yoga practitioners are more likely than others to report behaviors associated with "mindful eating," such as being aware when they were hungry or full or eating out of stress or boredom. Yoga enthusiasts' body mass index (a standard measure of fatness) averaged about 23, compared with 25.8 for those who exercised but didn't practice yoga.
SOURCE: Reader's Digest, Dec. 2009.
Cheap Boyfriend Doesn't Cuddle?
Men may be hormonally inclined to be cheap, according to a new Whittier College study. Researchers devised a game to test how testosterone levels affect men's generosity. Each male subject was asked to divide $10 with another man, in any percentage he wanted, and a second player could either accept or reject the offer. When subjects were given a hormone cream that doubled the level of testosterone in the bloodstream, they offered 27 percent less money, and the recipients were also less likely to accept the lower offers. Even without the cream, men rarely offered to split the money 50-50. Researchers say that testosterone may block the hormone oxytocin, sometimes called the "cuddle chemical" which promotes intimacy and can make people act generously.
SOURCE: THE WEEK, November 13, 2009.
Chemical-free Hair Salons
Hair salons have long been criticized for the pollution they generate. Traditional hair dyes and many shampoos contain harmful synthetic chemicals that are routinely used on customers' scalps—and then washed down the drain where they can accumulate in waterways, soils and even our bloodstreams.
While there doesn't appear to be an industry-wide, coordinated effort to green up these operations, green-friendly salons are popping up all across the country, leading the charge by taking matters into their own hands.
Not surprisingly, Southern California seems to be ground zero for the green hair salon movement. For example, Beverly Hills' Shades Hair Studio prides itself on its chemical-free atmosphere. Spurred on by her own health problems related to working with conventional hair dyes, owner Susan Henry—so-called "colorist to the stars"—first created her own line of natural hair colors that contain no harmful ammonia, and then transformed her Shades salon into a model for environmentally friendly hair care.
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Hair salons have long been criticized for the pollution they generate, but eco-friendly salons are popping up all across the country, leading the charge by taking matters into their own hands. Photo by Getty Images. |
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Across town, Nori's EcoSalon in Encino is making waves in the industry for its non-toxic permanent hair color treatments and 100 percent botanical henna using home-grown formulations. To boot, Nori's interior features energy efficient lighting, recycled denim insulation, low-VOC paints on the walls and sustainably sourced bamboo on the floors, along with a number of other green touches to keep indoor air quality high.
Closer to home, San Francisco's Descend Salon goes to similar lengths, and then steps it up a notch by recycling its hair clippings for use in absorbent mats used in oil spill clean-up efforts.
Not just for California anymore, eco-friendly hair salons occupy just about every major North American city, many operating in the same spirit as Shades, Nori's and Descend in making use of non-toxic and/or organic ingredients while greening indoor surroundings for an overall healthy experience. Then there's the granddaddy of them all, Aveda, which in addition to operating some 200 of its own spas, supplies natural hair care and personal care products to 7,000 professional hair salons and spas in 29 countries.
Of course, if none of the salons in your neighborhood have gone green, take it upon yourself to encourage them to make the transition. You can start by showing them this article and suggesting they begin to carry some all-natural products, perhaps by first contacting companies like EcoColors, Aveda, Modern Organic Products or Innersense to see what's out there that they could easily transtion to.
CONTACTS: Shades, www.shadesnaturalcolor.com; Nori's EcoSalon, www.norisecosalon.com; Descend salon, www.descendalon.com; EcoColors, www.ecocolors.net; Aveda, www.aveda.com; Modern Organic Products, Innersense, www.innersensebeauty.com.
SOURCE: E/The Environmental Magazine
www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.
Seven Deadly Foods To Avoid
Okay, you know you should be eating more fruits and veggies and whole grains. And nobody has to tell you to pass up the Twinkies and Ho Hos. But here are some other foods better left uneaten:
1) Canned Tomatoes:
The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen linked to reproductive problems, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Tomatoes' acidity leaches the chemicals out of the can and into the fruit. Buy fresh!
2) Corn-Fed Beef:
Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains, and commercial beef has lower beta-carotine, vitamin E, omega-3s, CLA, and other important nutrients but higher in saturated fats. If you still eat beef, choose grass-fed.
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3) Microwave Popcorn:
It's the bag, not the popcorn, that leaches perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), linked to infertility, liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Air pop or use a skillet!
4) Nonorganic Potatoes:
Root veggies absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides from the soil. Buy organic!
5) Farmed Salmon:
Salmon weren't meant to be crammed into pens any more than cows or poultry. Farmed salmon are higher in carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. Choose wild salmon!
6) Milk With Artificial Hormones:
Milk with bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) is banned in most industrialized countries, suspected of contributing to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Read the label and select milk with no artificial hormones.
7) Conventional Apples:
Farmworkers exposed to pesticides have higher rates of many cancers, so it makes sense to avoid exposure. Apples are the most doused produce. If you can't afford to buy organic, be sure to wash and peel.
SOURCE: Prevention, November 2009.
Andrew Weil, MD, on The Power of Chinese Medicine
Andrew Weil, MD, is enthusiastic about efforts to integrate traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with Western medicine. TCM is based on strengthening the body's own defenses to heal itself and maintain wellness, as opposed to Western medicine's focus on fighting germs and tumors with antibiotics, surgery, and chemotherapy.
Dr. Weil explains: "Chinese medicine is particularly successful at treating complex diseases with multiple causes, including metabolic diseases, chronic and degenerative conditions such as arthritis, and age-related disease. [Chinese-born colleague Qingcai Zhang, MD] has had particular success treating chronic hepatitis C and Lyme disease with modern Chinese medicine....
"Researchers are currently studying several aspects of Chinese medicine, including the effects of acupuncture and Chinese herbs on conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, and osteoarthritis.... [A]cupuncture treatments appeared to promote brain changes that made [patients] more receptive to painkillers."
SOURCE: Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing, Dec. 2009.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Are toxic chemicals in your environment making you sick? Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) sufferers may experience a wide range of adverse symptoms, including headache, dizziness, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, poor memory and concentration, depression, anxiety, fatigue, digestive disturbances, and skin rashes. Food allergies, mold, and anxiety can also account for similar symptoms.
Marianne Marchese, ND, reports that patients suffering from intolerance to low levels of chemicals in the environment have trouble getting properly diagnosed, let alone treated. "Patients turn to conventional doctors as well as alternative practitioners seeking relief from symptoms and hope for a cure. Often patients spend time and money seeing numerous practitioners and trying various treatments, often getting only partial relief from symptoms."
The most highly rated treatments were 1) creating a chemical-free living space—quite costly!; 2) chemical avoidance; 3) prayer; 4) meditation; 5) acupressure; 6) touch for health; 7) air filter; and 8) rotation diet.
SOURCE: Townsend Letter, November 2009.
Depressed? Try Green Tea!
Got the blues? Try drinking several cups of green tea daily. Green tea reduced depression in elderly people, according to a Japanese study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The findings show that the occurrence of depressive symptoms was 44% lower for participants who drank more than four cups of green tea per day compared to those who drank less than one. Drink up!
GOD (if She exists) May Be Green
You wouldn't think that after 5,000 years the Deity would still be grabbing headlines, but actually three new stories broke recently:
1) Great Britain's Green Religion
Environmentalism has just been recognized as a religion in Great Britain. A British man has won a lawsuit for wrongful termination, saying that he was fired because of his strong beliefs about global warming and the importance of recycling. The judge ruled that such beliefs amount to a spiritual worldview and gave them the same legal protections as "a belief in the Resurrection or the existence of Hell." Skeptics moan about the beatification of Al Gore.
2) The US: Losing Our Religion?
In the US, the ranks of the "religiously unaffiliated" or "Nones" is growing rapidly. A new Trinity College study finds that 34 million adult Americans, about 15 percent, have no religious affiliation, up from 8 percent in 1990. But the churchless are not necessarily faithless. A slim majority of "Nones" believe in God, and only about 10 percent call themselves atheists. Nonreligious citizens tend to hold more liberal political and cultural views than regular churchgoers, suggesting that a continued religious decline could be accompanied by a rise of liberalism.
3) Life After Death: The Evidence
The above is the title of a new book by Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative Christian commentator who claims that believing in life after death keeps us honest—and even improves our sex lives, something liberals can also endorse!
SOURCES: THE WEEK, November 6, 2009.
THE WEEK, November 20, 2009.
Newsweek, November 9, 2009.