Climate change, ecology, nature, environment, eco-friendly politics, non-profit projects, human rights, preservation, wildlife... all that we care about.
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 [...]
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 [...]
Gasland is a documentary film written and directed by Josh Fox which explores the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a widespread method used in drilling for natural gas in the United States.
Hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as ‘fracking’ (yes, like in Battlestar Galactica), fractures rock in order to get at natural gas deposits in shale reservoirs. [...]
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 [...]
The European Parliament shot down a plan to require the clear labeling of the healthiness of packaged food in the EU last week. The proposed label system involved an easily understandable color scheme, which would be placed on the front of the container in plain view. Another wish of many MEPs is to require information [...]
Over 25 years have past since the worst chemical disaster in history took place at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. The catastrophe killed 15,000 according to Indian government estimates. Activists and locals put the death toll much higher, not to mention the thousands left disabled by the disaster.
Today, a court in Bhopal [...]
There is something that happens in many rural areas around the globe. It’s a fairly common thing and it can also be a fairly dangerous thing, both to your health and to the environment. What am I referring to? Backyard Trash Burning.
Yes, in many rural areas—small towns or out in the country—people will burn their [...]
I always knew lack of sleep was bad for you. I mean, you don’t have to be a genius to equate feeling horrible with poor health. Now there is scientific evidence that it can actually kill you – and not just from falling asleep at the wheel.
According to a Dutch study, missing just one night [...]
Have you ever seen the commercials about high fructose corn syrup? You know: the ones that try to tell you it’s bad for you but they can’t really explain why it’s bad for you. They really aren’t very helpful.
For years, there’s been an ongoing debate about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sugar, and other sweeteners. [...]
Climate Change is becoming a growing concern when it comes to health issues.
Last week, a group of federal agencies issued a report on the threat climate change poses to health, analyzing what areas need to be studied. The report, published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, basically states that the climate will [...]
US residents have been rather upset about the new health reform lately and understandably so. However, there is at least one positive piece of health related news to report: The largest nonprofit HMO in the US is going solar.
Kaiser Permanente is based in Oakland, California, and has nearly 200,000 employees and physicians, plus over 400 [...]
The main opposition to legislation connected to climate change seems to stem from a public and corporate outcry against paying higher taxes. This could in many instances be interpreted as a selfish reason to oppose any government-backed climate or environmental action. A more sympathetic take on the opposition to regulating global emissions could focus on [...]
The municipality of in the region of North Karelia in the east of Finland is home to a remarkably successful health program. Eastern Finland once had the highest death rate from heart disease in the world. In 1972 a Finnish government led project was launched in cooperation with the WHO to combat heart disease in [...]
At least 40 people have died and 2,000 fallen ill in Papua New Guinea’s first cholera outbreak in 50 years, according to information from the World Health Organization. The Associated Press reports that the epidemic is so far not contained and poses a difficult problem for the health care system of this poverty-stricken Pacific nation.
The [...]
According to a piece in the London Times ‘two thirds of dairy farmers in England and Wales have gone out of business in the past decade,’ with another failing every day. The culprit? For one, it’s cheap milk. Prices are so low on standard, non-organic milk that dairy farmers in the UK have trouble turning [...]
How many of you enjoy walking? Maybe you do it for the exercise or maybe you like to walk so you can reduce your carbon footprint. Whatever the reason, if you live in the U.K., you might be interested in the website WalkIt.com.
The people of walkit.com have created an urban walking route planner. Yeah, you’ve [...]
Within 18 months, another disease will be completely removed from the planet and this one specifically harms animals.
Rinderpest—a disease that is particularly harmful to cattle—will become the second disease to be eradicated from the world. The first disease that was ever removed was smallpox, in 1980. The Cattle Plague (as it’s commonly known) has wiped [...]
I like cold showers. They make me feel good. To be more precise, they make me feel good after I take them, not during. The ‘during’ part can be pretty horrible, actually, especially in the winter months. I therefore have to steel myself before subjecting my tender corpse to every icy barrage I willingly put [...]
When you were younger, did you have to go through the dread of riding the bus to school? And if you have kids, do they have to suffer through the same? Cramped seating, screaming children and one very ticked off bus driver do not make for a pleasant travel experience, especially back and forth from [...]
Cold and Flu season is once again upon us. Noses are stuffed up, germs are being passed around schools, and everyone is in a panic over when they can get their H1N1 shot. I am in the process of getting over a cold myself, and it is certainly never a fun time. Even more difficult [...]
Have you ever had a terrible headache for no apparent reason? Believe it or not, it could be from air pollution. Considering the damage air pollution already does to the environment and people’s health, I wouldn’t be surprised.
A study conducted in the Santiago Province of Chile found that more people went to the hospital for [...]
In the 1973 film Soylent Green staring Charlton Heston a future United States of America, ravaged by overpopulation, pollution and global warming, feeds its poor masses rations of supposedly soy-based wafers. Manufactured by the evil and omnipotent Soylent Corporation, these high-energy crackers come in three exciting varieties: Soylent Red, Soylent Yellow and Soylent Green. At [...]
Have you ever wondered how we survived before super-markets came to be? And how did our parents go through life not knowing the joy of recycling tons of food packaging in color coded recycle bins? It must have been such a boring life for those who had their own kitchen garden and had to cook [...]
While most of us prefer to dine out, or munch on fast foods, we still spend time in our kitchen cooking up meals that will satisfy our taste buds, or tossing in all ingredients from our cupboard into a hot sizzling pan. Indeed, for cooking fanatics, spending most of their time in their kitchen perfecting [...]
