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Articles in: Health
Conservation, Health, Nature, Pollution, Wildlife & Flora, Aug 10th, 2010,
This summer has been pretty crazy for the south, dealing with the oil spill clean up, the seafood industry, and threatening storms in the area. Sounds like a great way to spend a summer vacation, right? Fortunately, the end to the whole fiasco is drawing nearer (hopefully), but before I go into that, let’s check out some other things that have happened recently, first. To start with, Texas filed a lawsuit against BP, claiming the oil giant put profits before environmental safety. Surprisingly, this doesn’t have so much to do with the oil spill as it does with a refinery,…
Tags: blue crab, BP, drill, food chain, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, indicator species, lawsuit, oil change, relief well, Texas, updates
Health, Nature, Weird & Wonderful, Wildlife & Flora, Aug 7th, 2010,
I enjoy growing plants, especially indoors. Practically all my window space (and then some) is taken up by plants–herbs, cacti, flowers, you name it. If you’re an avid lover of plants or have plants of your own, then you’re probably aware of all the care they require and how easy it can be to make mistakes–especially when it comes to watering. We all know they don’t get the same amount of water, but how much is too much or too little? And how often should you water them? Do you let the soil go dry or should you keep it…
Tags: Botanicalls, green design, plant care, tweets, twitter, water
green living, Health, Weird & Wonderful, Aug 2nd, 2010,
This summer has been practically unbearable, as far as temperature goes. The sun is blazing, wildfires are sprouting up all over the place, and this past June had some of the hottest temperatures on record. Sure, you could turn on the air conditioner or a bunch of fans, but they use electricity and waste energy—especially if they are cooling off rooms that don’t need it. Here are some tips and tricks you can do to keep yourself cooled off, without being wasteful in the process: 1. Make sure your house is properly sealed and insulated. This means filling the gaps…
Tags: advice, appliances, food, Go Green, heat, insulation, outdoors, plants, summer, tips, water, ways to stay cool, windows
Climate & Change, Health, Nature, Jul 31st, 2010,
The worst flooding in decades hit northwestern Pakistan recently, killing over 800 people and forcing the evacuation of thousands. The total number of people affected by the flooding so far has surpassed 1 million, including those missing or infected with waterborne diseases. All it took was a few days of heavy, torrential rains and it was only a matter of time before the rivers unleashed their wrath on the villages. Earlier this week, Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, stated: “According to initial reports received from all districts, 408 people have so far been killed [since Wednesday]” … “We fear the…
Tags: breaking news, flood, monsoons, more than 1 million affected, over 800 dead, Pakistan, torrential rains, worst flood in decades
Business, Health, Sustainable living, Jul 26th, 2010,
By now many of you have probably heard of ‘greenwashing’, the practice by which businesses or organizations present an environmentally friendly image without backing it up with concrete green credentials. BP’s green flower logo and ‘Beyond Petroleum’ slogan are blatant examples of greenwashing. Perhaps even more bewildering and maddening is the fact that the production of certain types of so-called biofuels can result in more greenhouse gas emissions and environmental destruction than that of fossil fuels. But what about actual green washing – as in cleaning our homes, clothes and bodies in environmentally friendly ways? According to a piece in…
Tags: cleaner, cleaning, ecological, Ecover, environmental, friendly, Green, greenwashing, home, products, vinegar
Climate & Change, Health, Sustainable living, Jul 23rd, 2010,
Two rather informative articles from Mother Jones go over the environmental benefits/drawbacks of a vegetarian diet vs. one that includes lots of meat. Kiera Butler’s ‘Steak or Veggie Burger: Which is Greener?’ – aka ‘Get Behind Me Seitan’ – may tread some familiar ground for those well versed on the relationship between diet and the environment, but it offers up some pretty important details, especially about processed meat substitutes. A processed ‘pea-burger’ requires as much energy as a pork chop, Butler claims. I don’t know what a pea-burger is, but I’m guessing she is referring to the bulk of industrially…
Tags: burger, Butler, diet, eat, eating, environment, factory, farm, farming, gluten, hexane, Kiera, meat, processed, seitan, vegetarian, veggie, wheat
Climate & Change, Health, Politics, Jul 20th, 2010,
During the last few days the British press has run some relatively prominent articles once again highlighting the correlation between meat eating and climate change, also resulting in a few additional commentary pieces and the usual backlash. Perhaps biggest of all is the Observer Food Monthly magazine’s OFM vegetarian recipe special edited by none other than the McCartney family (Sir Paul, Mary and Stella). Far from simply a collection of recipes – including several from Gwyneth Paltrow and other veggie celebs – the OFM special contains interviews with each of the three McCartneys, plus one piece that specifically connects environmentalism…
Tags: change, climate, Dominic, footsoldier, Kenya, Lady, Lawson, Lettuce, Lord, McCartney, meat, Observer, Paul, PETA, skeptic, vegetarian, vegetarianism, veggie
Health, Sustainable living, Jul 16th, 2010,
A recent piece for The Ecologist, entitled ‘Biomass Britain: do fields of energy crops spell an end to grazing livestock’, explores the possibility of a revolution in the UK’s land use. 70-80% of land in the UK is used by the British livestock industry. The possibility of a near-complete shift from livestock farming to the growing of food crops and biomass for energy production may sound revolutionary to some and catastrophic to others. It would mean the de-industrialization of Britain’s meat industry and a 60-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, according to The Ecologist article. It’s a revolutionary vision that…
Tags: biomass, British, carbon, change, diet, emissions, energy, farming, forestry, industry, livestock, meat, Peel, plant, Scotland, Scottish, UK, wood
Health, Nature, Weird & Wonderful, Wildlife & Flora, Jul 13th, 2010,
Did you know that the Peace Lily is actually toxic; that corn was responsible for a nasty illness which affected 3 million Americans in the early 20th century; and that although beautiful, the Water Hyacinth is actually the world’s worst aquatic weed? If not, then there’s a book you should definitely check out. Last week, I picked up a new book, called Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities, by Amy Stewart. This book teaches the reader about more than 60 plants that are deadly, illegal, painful, offensive, dangerous, intoxicating, or destructive. These are plants…
Tags: book, botanical assassins, dangerous plants, deadly plants, destructive, dinner, flowers, fruit, garden plants, harmful plants, herbs, houseplants, illegal, mistaken identity, offensive, painful, TOXIC, trees, vegetables, weeds, Wicked Plants, wild plants
Climate & Change, Health, Pollution, Science & Technology, Jul 9th, 2010,
I’ve assumed that transport via boat, whether shipping goods or people, is less polluting and has a lower carbon footprint than flying or road freight, for example. Not so, according to both scientific research and inside information from the maritime shipping industry. While diesel cars – once known as smelly, noisy polluters – have relatively cleaned up their act to the level of standard petrol or gasoline-fuelled cars, the heavy-duty diesel and low-grade fuel oil engines that power ships are a scourge on the environment and human health. From an article in the Economist: Research by James Corbett of the…
Tags: cargo, cars, Danish, deaths, denmark, diesel, emissions, environment, freight, H2O, Health, industry, nitrogen, ocean, oxide, Pollution, research, ship, shipping, ships, US
Conservation, Health, Nature, Pollution, Wildlife & Flora, Jul 3rd, 2010,
A few nights ago, I was watching Larry King on CNN. During that particular episode, he was interviewing some of the Sea Shepherd crew and former game-show host and animal rights activist, Bob Barker (who also has a Sea Shepherd vessel named after him). Of course, they talked about the crew and Whale Wars, but they also discussed an ongoing disaster of our time: the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. I had fallen out of the news loop on that lately, so I was pretty shocked when they showed footage of the fires being set at night in the Gulf. Apparently,…
Tags: BP, burning animals alive, controlled burns, endangered sea turtles, Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, lawsuit, moving sea turtle eggs, updates, volunteers declined
Climate & Change, Conservation, Health, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Joyce Kilmer’s 1913 poem ‘Trees’ was not only sickly-sweet, but also pretty darn apt regarding how important our woody friends truly are. The British conservation charity Woodland Trust has published a report detailing the important role of native trees in urban environments. The report, entitled, ‘Greening the concrete jungle’, claims that more trees and woods in urban areas are needed in order to improve general health and wellness, reduce the risk of surface water flooding, raise the quality of life, support wildlife and enhance conditions for inward investment. Trees are an inexpensive way to provide a diverse range of benefits…
Tags: British, concrete jungle, greening, Health, native, report, tree, trees, trust, UK, urban, woodland
Health, Nature, Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 27th, 2010,
How many of you have an outdoor garden? Okay, and how many of you use Roundup weed killer? Although Roundup has a reputation of being one of the top weed killers on the market and much safer than other chemical alternatives, there are still some stubborn weeds out there that are resistant to Roundup and have actually evolved over the past 34 years (since Roundup’s introduction). Unfortunately, this weed evolution has forced farmers (and others) to resort to some outdated and environmentally unsafe weed killing methods, particularly in the southern states. Right now, there are at least 10 weed species…
Tags: adapt, chemicals, crops, environmental, evolved, farmers, hazard, herbicides, Monsanto, resistant, Roundup, seeds, stubborn, threat, weed killer, weeds, wildlife
Health, Pollution, Science & Technology, Jun 26th, 2010,
Do you or someone you know have breathing problems while sleeping? If so, you may be surprised to learn that a recent study shows a link between air pollution exposure and breathing troubles during sleep. Air pollution is already known to irritate the respiratory system, so, researchers tried to figure out if this irritation has anything to do with sleeping trouble, too. First, they studied data from the Sleep Heart Health Study, which examined links between heart health and sleeping patterns of more than 6,000 people between 1995 and 1998. Then, they compared that data to EPA air pollution data…
Tags: Air Pollution, airways, breathing, disorders, link, problems, respiratory, sleep, sleep apnea, study, temperature increase, trouble
Health, Recycling, Science & Technology, ,
We’ve all heard that BPA is bad for us, that we shouldn’t use any product—especially plastic bottles—that may contain BPA, and that we definitely shouldn’t expose infants or toddlers to BPA products, either. BPA, or Bisphenol A, has been linked to cancer, thyroid issues, obesity, neurological issues, and can even affect the growth, development and reproduction cycles of marine species. Given this knowledge, many people probably figure that all you have to do is avoid the plastic products that contain BPA and they’ll be safe, right? Wrong. Yes, BPA can be found in plastic bottles, but it can also be…
Tags: alternatives, Bisphenol A, BPA, drink cans, epoxy resin, food cans, fruits, harmful, Health, plastics, research, side effects, soda, soup, study, unsafe, vegetables
Health, Nature, Jun 25th, 2010,
Heavy rains continue to fall in southern China, raising the death toll to 377 and it’s not likely to stop there. At least 142 people are still missing and more rain is still expected. Thus far, the flooding has caused nearly $11 billion in damages, forced the evacuation of 4.4 million people, and collapsed 368,000 homes. Although floods happen yearly in China, this year’s have been particularly heavy, spanning across 10 provinces and regions in the southeast, and it all comes right after a terrible drought season. Rescue workers and soldiers are currently transporting stones and sandbags to block and…
Tags: China, damages, death toll, flooding, floods, heavy rain, landslides, Southeast, storms, torrential rain, update
Health, Nature, Weird & Wonderful, Jun 23rd, 2010,
An earthquake hit eastern Canada today. Yes, Canada. The 5.0 magnitude quake struck along the Ontario-Quebec border region around 1:41 PM EST, at a depth of approximately 12 miles (19.2). Tremors lasted about 30 seconds, shaking homes and businesses, but there are no reports of injuries or damages. A number of businesses in the Ottawa area were also evacuated. Apparently, the tremors could also be felt in several US states, including: Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia. I can’t speak for the other states, but I felt nothing of the sort in Pennsylvania….
Tags: 5.0, breaking news, Canada, earthquake, eastern Canada, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, tremors, US, Vermont, West Virginia
Health, Nature, Jun 22nd, 2010,
Over the past 2 weeks, China has been slammed with rains, floods and landslides leaving a trail of at least 175 dead, 107 missing and 1.7 million people evacuated since it all began—and there is no indication of the rain stopping any time soon. At least 35 rivers have risen past their warning marks and pose a threat to surrounding cities and farmland. Many bridges and roads are washed out or blocked—including 11 major state highways, and hundreds of rescue boats are being used to help evacuate those stranded by the floods. Even soldiers and armed police have been sent…
Tags: China, damages, death toll, floods, increase, landslides, missing persons, update
