Fluoride: "'Disreputable and power-hungry persons in high places have been know to experiment with fluoride to see if it could not be used to subjugate the people of a whole community more quickly than fighting them into submission,' according to William Guy Carr, a retired commander from the Royal Canadian Navy.
Controversial fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in both PROZAC (FLUoxetene Hydrochloride) and Sarin nerve gas (Isopropyl-Methyl-Phosphoryl FLUoride). Sodium fluoride, a hazardous-waste by-product from the manufacture of aluminum and phosphate fertilizer, is a common ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, anesthetics, hypnotics, psychiatric drugs, and military nerve gas. Historically it has been quite expensive to properly dispose of, until some aluminum industries with an overabundance of the stuff sold the public on the terrifically insane but highly profitable idea of buying it at a 20,000% markup, injecting it into our water supplies, and then DRINKING it. Yes, a 20,000% markup: Fluoride--intended only for human consumption by people under 14 years of age--is injected into our drinking water supply at approx. 1 part-per-million (ppm), but since we only drink 1/2 of one percent of the total water supply, the rest literally goes down the drain as a free hazardous-waste disposal for the chemical industry, where we PAY them so that we can flush their expensive hazardous waste down our toilets."
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Fluoridation: Is the force-feeding of fluoride really necessary?<
Fluoridation: Is the force-feeding of fluoride really necessary?: "1. Most fluoride put into municipal water systems is a waste product from the manufacture/processing of iron, steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, and fertilizer. The companies who end up with the “hot potato” known as fluoride have convinced many people that their trash is another’s treasure. Well, we should be suspicious. It is one of the most toxic waste products around. In the Fifth edition (1984) of Toxicology of Commercial Products, Fluoride is rated “4” (very toxic). For comparison, Lead is rated a “3-4” (moderately toxic). In their effort to convince people of fluoride’s benefits, the aluminum industry paid for a study to determine that it was “good for us.” Before this study, fluoride’s primary uses was for insecticide and rat poison.
2. The FDA has never approved fluoride for human consumption. For more information on this, check out:
http://www.toothwisdom.net/f.absence_of_fda.html
Japan and continental Europe have banned its use for human consumption, citing health concerns and medical ethics.
2. The FDA has never approved fluoride for human consumption. For more information on this, check out:
http://www.toothwisdom.net/f.absence_of_fda.html
Japan and continental Europe have banned its use for human consumption, citing health concerns and medical ethics.
3. In over 50 years of testing, it has never been conclusively demonstrated that fluoride is effective in preventing tooth decay. The whole fluoride deception is primarily based on two studies conducted in the 1930s: the “Galesburg-Quincy” study and the “21 city” study. Both of these studies were later examined by non-government expert statisticians and found to be statistically flawed, as well as having a significant number of other serious problems, making them worthless (see Fluoride the Aging Factor by Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, p. 119-123. Also: Fluoridation Errors and Omissions in Experimental Trials, by Philip R. N. Sutton, DDSc, LDS, Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Oral Medicine and Surgery, University of Melbourne, in collaboration with Sir Arthur B. P. Amies, Dean of the Dental School, University of Melbourne).
4. It is easy to get too much of it, and too much can cause many serious health problems. Spiking our water system is not the best way to regulate doses of fluoride (even if the stuff was good for you).
5. Most kids drink soft drinks, juices, and milk. Very few drink water. Adding it to the city water seems like a strange way to get a small dose of fluoride into a child. If they add it to our water, we will have to shower in it, wash our clothes in it, and use it wherever we use water. And where will most of this fluoride end up anyway? The fish in our rivers surely don’t need any more toxic chemicals to deal with.
6. Fluoride is highly corrosive, so much so that even when diluted to 1.0 ppm (part per million), it promotes the leaching of lead and other metals from plumbing. Hood River city’s main water lines still have many lead joints (just ask your local excavator). Studies have shown that after fluoridation, lead levels in municipal water increases.
7. Think about the liability that our city councilors are placing on the City of Hood River (and themselves!). The federal Safe Drinking Water Act states: “No national primary drinking water regulation may require the addition of any substance for preventive health care purposes unrelated to contamination of drinking water.”
8. Experiments have already been done on humans. It has been determined that fluoride increases hip fractures by 41 percent among men and 27 percent among women in Brigham City, Utah, where water is intentionally fluoridated to 1.0 ppm.
(http://www.toothwisdom.net/f.evidence_of_harm.html)
9. In 1992, the New Jersey State Department of Health released the results of a study that found six times more bone cancer cases among males under the age of 20 living in communities with fluoridated water. (http://www.toothwisdom.net/f.evidence_of_harm.html)
10. Fluoride dispensing equipment can malfunction and result in poisoning as happened in Hoopers Bay, Alaska in 1992 (one person died, 296 poisoned).
"Friday, April 06, 2007
The Battle of Darkness and Light
The Battle of Darkness and Light: "From her personal experience, Dr. Light confirmed not only the revolving door I had described in my paper, but in addition, the corruption within the "government" taking place just on the other side of that door. Here, from an eyewitness, came the truth that individuals representing corporations are not only holding key government positions, they have also been determining which studies are done, who receives grants, and they have been "adjusting" the reports in order to create a false sense of security about their favored products and services.
With the promise of corporate gain and personal profit, the industry "representatives" have been making important decisions affecting all of us profoundly. For the most part, the general public has been unaware of this partnership between private business and our publicly funded federal government.
Of special interest to Luise was what I had presented as the "absurd American food pyramid" - a dietary guide that first came out in the 1980s, and in which our "government" recommended starch as the foundation of our diet. This was of particular interest to Luise because, as I read in awe, it was she and her team of nutrition experts who had created the concept of the food pyramid - but with a very major twist. The real food pyramid, Luise wrote, was completely different from the "adjusted" pyramid that was distributed to an unsuspecting American public.
The true pyramid that Luise and her team developed was not absurd, at all. It did not have starch as the foundation. Instead, it called for a base of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, with 5 to 9 servings daily. Whole grain cereals and grains were recommended in amounts of 2 to 4 servings daily - with the smaller amount for females and those with less active lifestyles. The real pyramid that Luise and her team created placed baked goods, crackers, sweets and other low-nutrient foods up with the sugars and fats at the top of the pyramid, where they were recommended only as occasional treats.
"But what happened?" Luise wrote, stating that there had been a deliberate, unexplained switch made at the political level that completely distorted the pyramid - which is the subject of her forthcoming book, Ketchup is Not a Vegetable; Sane Eating in a Toxic Food World.
"Instead of fruits and vegetables making up the base of the diet," she wrote, "the cereals and wheat products were made the base of the pyramid, and the recommendation [for starchy foods] was no longer 2 to 4 as we had determined but switched 6 to 11 servings! We couldn't believe it! What possible rationale could there be for such an unprecedented and unjustified switch? In fact the health consequences of encouraging the public to eat so much refined grain, which the body processes like sugar, was frightening! But our exhortations to the political heads of the agency fell on deaf ears. The new food guide, replacing the 'Basic Four,' would be a promotional tool to get the public to buy and consume more calories, sugar and starch." Ultimately, this would result in a poorer quality diet.
With the promise of corporate gain and personal profit, the industry "representatives" have been making important decisions affecting all of us profoundly. For the most part, the general public has been unaware of this partnership between private business and our publicly funded federal government.
Of special interest to Luise was what I had presented as the "absurd American food pyramid" - a dietary guide that first came out in the 1980s, and in which our "government" recommended starch as the foundation of our diet. This was of particular interest to Luise because, as I read in awe, it was she and her team of nutrition experts who had created the concept of the food pyramid - but with a very major twist. The real food pyramid, Luise wrote, was completely different from the "adjusted" pyramid that was distributed to an unsuspecting American public.
The true pyramid that Luise and her team developed was not absurd, at all. It did not have starch as the foundation. Instead, it called for a base of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, with 5 to 9 servings daily. Whole grain cereals and grains were recommended in amounts of 2 to 4 servings daily - with the smaller amount for females and those with less active lifestyles. The real pyramid that Luise and her team created placed baked goods, crackers, sweets and other low-nutrient foods up with the sugars and fats at the top of the pyramid, where they were recommended only as occasional treats.
"But what happened?" Luise wrote, stating that there had been a deliberate, unexplained switch made at the political level that completely distorted the pyramid - which is the subject of her forthcoming book, Ketchup is Not a Vegetable; Sane Eating in a Toxic Food World.
"Instead of fruits and vegetables making up the base of the diet," she wrote, "the cereals and wheat products were made the base of the pyramid, and the recommendation [for starchy foods] was no longer 2 to 4 as we had determined but switched 6 to 11 servings! We couldn't believe it! What possible rationale could there be for such an unprecedented and unjustified switch? In fact the health consequences of encouraging the public to eat so much refined grain, which the body processes like sugar, was frightening! But our exhortations to the political heads of the agency fell on deaf ears. The new food guide, replacing the 'Basic Four,' would be a promotional tool to get the public to buy and consume more calories, sugar and starch." Ultimately, this would result in a poorer quality diet.
Fluoride quotes
Fluoride quotes:
Green Tea, Fluoride & the Thyroid
"In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster than any other chemical."--Dean Burk -- Congressional Record 21 July 1976
"Here in Toronto we've been fluoridating for 36 years. Yet Vancouver - which has never fluoridated - has a cavity rate lower than Toronto's." --Dr. Hardy Limeback, B.Sc., Ph.D., in Biochemistry, D.D.S., head of the Department of Preventive Dentistry for the University of Toronto, and president of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. http://www.apfn.org/apfn/fluoride-expert.htm
Large part of the pharma and chemical industry products
SODIUM FLUORIDE: A 'waste product' of the aluminium industry and used in fluoridation of drinking water, this hazardous intractable garbage has become, by dint of promotion and sly public re-education, the active ingredient in fluorinated pesticides, fungicides, nematodides, rodenticides, anaesthetics, tranquillisers, fluorinated medications (pharmaceuticals), a number of industrial and domestic products, fluorinated dental gels, rinses and toothpastes.
In other words, sodium fluoride is so much a part of multibillion-dollar industrial and pharmaceutical income that any withdrawal for any reason by the promoters, the fluoridationists or by anyone who has supported them for whatever purpose is impossible on a financial basis, embarrassing on a reputation basis, and unthinkable on a legal basis. Fluoridation - Mind Control of the Masses by Ian E. Stephen
A great fraud
"Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this century, if not of all time."--Robert Carton, Ph.D. former US EPA scientist.
A poison (fancy lead enhanced water?)
"Fluoride is more toxic than Lead and only marginally less toxic than Arsenic." ----Clinical Toxicology of Commercial products, 5th Ed. 1984
SODIUM SILICOFLUORIDE: This waste product of the fertiliser industry is used in fluoridation of drinking water. By international law it must be removed from fertiliser so that pastures, crops, sheep and cattle will not be harmed. That it is then sold for disposal through the community kidneys is not a matter of international concern. Until this more profitable use was found, it was used almost exclusively as an insecticide and rodenticide - an exterminator Fluoridation - Mind Control of the Masses by Ian E. Stephen
Mistakes in dosage do happen in water industry
Aluminium poisoning from water supply: "Effectively they said we were either dotty or lying. For 13 years the authorities have said this whole thing is just in our minds."--Elizabeth Sigmund, Camelford resident
Waste product of many industries
"It's a toxic waste product of many types of industry; for instance, glass production, phosphate fertilizer production and many others. They would have no way to dispose of the tons of fluoride waste they produce unless they could find some use for it, so they made up this story about it being good for dental health. Then they can pass it through everyone's bodies and into the sewer." [A novel approach to toxic waste disposal--just feed it to the people and let their bodies "detoxify" it]. "It is a well coordinated effort, to keep it from being declared for what it is--a toxic waste."--Dr Lee
Fluoridation leads to diseases
"In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer deaths, and causes it faster, than any other chemical."--Dean Burke, Former Chief Chemist Emeritus, US National Cancer Institute.
"It is concluded that artificial fluoridation appears to cause or induce about 20-30 excess cancer deaths for every 100,000 persons exposed per year after about 15-20 years."--Dean Burke
Dr. John Yiamouyiannis states that from 30,000-50,000 deaths/year are directly traceable to fluoridation; 10,000-20,000 of these deaths being from fluoride induced cancers.
In 1969, the country of Sweden intended to fluoridate their water supply due to the strong advice of Professor Yngve Ericsson, a Swedish dentist who was also the senior representative on the World Health Organization's Expert Committee on Fluoridation. Then it was found that Professor Ericsson coincidentally was the holder of two highly-profitable patents on fluoride toothpaste. (Follow the money.) A subsequent investigation disclosed that the World Health Organization's numerous so-called "objective" comparative studies on mortality and morbidity for fluoridated vs. non-fluoridated areas simply didn't exist! The investigation stated that the World Health Organization's report was unacceptable from a scientific point of view, and that some of the claims set forth in the WHO report actually lack any and every basis in fact. The conclusion was that the details given by WHO on risks and safety margins were grossly defective. Sweden thus remains non-fluoridated, to this day. Tom Swanson
Green Tea, Fluoride & the Thyroid
http://64.177.90.157/pfpc/html/green_tea___.html
A website by a pro-fluoridation infant medical group lists a cup of black tea to contain 7.8 mgs of fluoride (7), which is roughly the same amount as if one were to drink 7.8 litres of water in an area fluoridated at 1ppm. It is well known that fluoride in tea gets absorbed by the body similarly as the fluoride in drinking water (1,8).
Drinking a cup of tea with fluoride content as mentioned above (7.8mg) would mean a fluoride intake much higher(!) than amounts which were actually given as medication to treat hyperthyroidism (-> over-functioning thyroid) for numerous decades - in several countries - specifically to reduce thyroid activity! [(2 -10 mg NaF/day => 0.9mg - 4.5mg F-)] (19,20,21,22)
Other World War II, produced of course by Rome, caused the Nazi experiments on the people in the concentration camps-the Jews, the Gypsies, the Socialists, primarily the Jews. But they experimented with things like fluoride. They experimented with things like EDTA chelation, which is THE treatment of choice for anybody with heart disease. They experimented with poisons. They experimented with surgeries. They experimented with all kinds of things on these people. They also experimented with vaccinations and immunizations.
There's a book called The Nazi Doctors. Everything that was learned by them was integrated into the American Medical Association, after the war. That's why we all have our municipal water supplies fluoridated. That's why they're all chlorinated, because chlorine decreases oxygen, and therefore causes cancer, because cancer grows in an anaerobic state-it's a virus, converting cells into mutants that are anaerobic.
Ok. All of Europe is using ozone to clean their water supplies. Here they use chlorine. They want us with cancer. And how do we get cancer? With the vaccinations and immunizations, where they inject us with live viruses, like the hepatitis vaccine-every one of them has the HIV virus, SV-40.
What they're doing is what they learned in Nazi Germany. They implemented here and they continue their research in the CIA. There's a two-tape set called The CIA And The Virus Makers which show how the CIA helped to create the HIV virus and various other viruses. They get into Robert Gallo, the world's foremost virologist.
Robert Gallo is a Jesuit. He's a Roman Catholic, Italian, the world's foremost virologist-and yet not controlled by the Brotherhood, by the Company? Ridiculous. He's under their control! He's doing all the research, and he doesn't want to be blamed for it-as the WONDERFUL Jew, Len Horowitz, proved. Again, we've got Jews getting in the way-Jews blowing their cover.
Personally, I have my own home where I use ozone oxygen. I use ultraviolet blood irradiation. I can show you how ultraviolet blood irradiation incapacitates Lupus. It destroys Hepatitis. It destroys Meningitis. It destroys HIV.
This is a very simple procedure; I do it every day. It can easily be done by any medical doctor, and they won't do it. Because, when you kill off the virus, you don't have the diseases. You are thwarting what they wanted to do with their vaccinations and immunizations.
That's why they want to make a law. That's why that filthy Ted Kennedy, that Knight of Columbus, wants all these vaccinations and immunizations-when it should be a religious tenet of everyone: 'It's against my religious convictions to put foreign pathogens into my bloodstream. It's going to make me sick by the time I'm 40. It's going to give me plaque build-up and heart-disease. I'm not going to do it.'
In the meantime, they're suppressing all the things that reverse it: soft lasers, hyperbaric chambers, ultraviolet blood irradiation, oxygen ozone, north-pole magnetic therapy. All the things working together that would easily reverse it, they suppress, and consider it a crime. Make sense? The Black Pope: Interview of Eric Jon Phelps
Thursday, April 05, 2007
THREE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
THREE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
1. COWS
2 THE CONSTITUTION
3. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
ON COWS:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government
can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the
stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington ? And, they tracked
her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million
illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them
all a cow.
ON THE CONSTITUTION:
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq , why don't we
just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's
worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.
ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a
courthouse........ You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt
Not Commit Adultery", and "Thou! Shall Not Lie" in a building full of
lawyers, judges and politicians -- it creates a hostile work
environment.
May each day find you safe,healthy and your Heart content.
1. COWS
2 THE CONSTITUTION
3. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
ON COWS:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government
can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the
stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington ? And, they tracked
her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million
illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them
all a cow.
ON THE CONSTITUTION:
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq , why don't we
just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's
worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.
ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a
courthouse..
Not Commit Adultery", and "Thou! Shall Not Lie" in a building full of
lawyers, judges and politicians -- it creates a hostile work
environment.
May each day find you safe,healthy and your Heart content.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Are GM Crops Killing Bees
Oh and poison everything else too, not just the children!!!
I bet Monsanto has a patent on a GM Bee to sell after all the real ones are gone!
Are GM Crops Killing Bees: "Albert Einstein quote: 'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.'
Mysterious events in recent months have suddenly made Einstein's apocalyptic vision seem all the more topical. For unknown reasons, bee populations throughout Germany are disappearing - something that is so far only harming beekeepers. But the situation is different in the United States, where bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire. No one knows what is causing the bees to perish, but some experts believe that the large-scale use of genetically modified plants in the US could be a factor.
Felix Kriechbaum, an official with a regional beekeepers' association in Bavaria, recently reported a decline of almost 12 percent in local bee populations. When 'bee populations disappear without a trace,' says Kriechbaum, it is difficult to investigate the causes, because 'most bees don't die in the beehive.' There are many diseases that can cause bees to lose their sense of orientation so they can no longer find their way back to their hives.
Manfred Hederer, the president of the German Beekeepers Association, almost simultaneously reported a 25 percent drop in bee populations throughout Germany. In isolated cases, says Hederer, declines of up to 80 percent have been reported. He speculates that "a particular toxin, some agent with which we are not familiar," is killing the bees.
Politicians, until now, have shown little concern for such warnings or the woes of beekeepers. Although apiarists have been given a chance to make their case - for example in the run-up to the German cabinet's approval of a genetic engineering policy document by Minister of Agriculture Horst Seehofer in February - their complaints are still largely ignored.
Even when beekeepers actually go to court, as they recently did in a joint effort with the German chapter of the organic farming organization Demeter International and other groups to oppose the use of genetically modified corn plants, they can only dream of the sort of media attention environmental organizations like Greenpeace attract with their protests at test sites.
But that could soon change. Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent. "
I bet Monsanto has a patent on a GM Bee to sell after all the real ones are gone!
Are GM Crops Killing Bees: "Albert Einstein quote: 'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.'
Mysterious events in recent months have suddenly made Einstein's apocalyptic vision seem all the more topical. For unknown reasons, bee populations throughout Germany are disappearing - something that is so far only harming beekeepers. But the situation is different in the United States, where bees are dying in such dramatic numbers that the economic consequences could soon be dire. No one knows what is causing the bees to perish, but some experts believe that the large-scale use of genetically modified plants in the US could be a factor.
Felix Kriechbaum, an official with a regional beekeepers' association in Bavaria, recently reported a decline of almost 12 percent in local bee populations. When 'bee populations disappear without a trace,' says Kriechbaum, it is difficult to investigate the causes, because 'most bees don't die in the beehive.' There are many diseases that can cause bees to lose their sense of orientation so they can no longer find their way back to their hives.
Manfred Hederer, the president of the German Beekeepers Association, almost simultaneously reported a 25 percent drop in bee populations throughout Germany. In isolated cases, says Hederer, declines of up to 80 percent have been reported. He speculates that "a particular toxin, some agent with which we are not familiar," is killing the bees.
Politicians, until now, have shown little concern for such warnings or the woes of beekeepers. Although apiarists have been given a chance to make their case - for example in the run-up to the German cabinet's approval of a genetic engineering policy document by Minister of Agriculture Horst Seehofer in February - their complaints are still largely ignored.
Even when beekeepers actually go to court, as they recently did in a joint effort with the German chapter of the organic farming organization Demeter International and other groups to oppose the use of genetically modified corn plants, they can only dream of the sort of media attention environmental organizations like Greenpeace attract with their protests at test sites.
But that could soon change. Since last November, the US has seen a decline in bee populations so dramatic that it eclipses all previous incidences of mass mortality. Beekeepers on the east coast of the United States complain that they have lost more than 70 percent of their stock since late last year, while the west coast has seen a decline of up to 60 percent. "
On plastic and kids
Yes pollute all our kids from birth so then you can sell us Ritalin and other crap later on .... use one poison to require the next and the next ... great at creating lots of profit!!! I know you want every living soul addicted to some drugs that pay you $100/month for their entire life!!!! The American Profit Machine at work
On plastic and kids | By Umbra Fisk | Grist | Ask Umbra | 02 Apr 2007: "Plastic is a lightweight, reusable material that gained dominance in the kids' consumer-goods market due to its low cost and durability. Today's plastics are manufactured using chemical compounds found in petroleum and natural gas, with other chemicals added to achieve desired properties such as flexibility, color, and solidity. Although plastics are undeniably handy and here to stay as part of modern life, they do have environmental drawbacks. Immediate threats to human health from plastic food containers include phthalate softeners and the resin bisphenol A. Dioxins, which result from the manufacture and disposal of polyvinyl plastic, have been identified as a major long-term threat to the environment and mammal health. Children, as you say, are small and grow rapidly, chewing everything in sight for part of their life, and are hence at a higher risk from plastic food containers than we ginormous adults.
Both phthalates and bisphenol A are considered hormone disruptors. Bisphenol A may be acting as an estrogen substitute within our bodies and those of our children, causing abnormal development of various organs including the brain and reproductive system. Bisphenol A has been in the news recently as regards baby bottles because of a study released by Environment California that found BPA in the five most popular polycarbonate baby bottles. (Reading that report is probably the best way to absorb all the various impacts potentially attributed to bisphenol A in plastics.) Then the National Institutes of Health picked the whole thing up to examine what's happening, and that seems to be ongoing. Phthalates I've discussed before on numerous occasions; they are also chemicals that are added to and leach out of plastics and can then perhaps disrupt our reproductive systems. Bad, the whole thing is bad."
On plastic and kids | By Umbra Fisk | Grist | Ask Umbra | 02 Apr 2007: "Plastic is a lightweight, reusable material that gained dominance in the kids' consumer-goods market due to its low cost and durability. Today's plastics are manufactured using chemical compounds found in petroleum and natural gas, with other chemicals added to achieve desired properties such as flexibility, color, and solidity. Although plastics are undeniably handy and here to stay as part of modern life, they do have environmental drawbacks. Immediate threats to human health from plastic food containers include phthalate softeners and the resin bisphenol A. Dioxins, which result from the manufacture and disposal of polyvinyl plastic, have been identified as a major long-term threat to the environment and mammal health. Children, as you say, are small and grow rapidly, chewing everything in sight for part of their life, and are hence at a higher risk from plastic food containers than we ginormous adults.
Both phthalates and bisphenol A are considered hormone disruptors. Bisphenol A may be acting as an estrogen substitute within our bodies and those of our children, causing abnormal development of various organs including the brain and reproductive system. Bisphenol A has been in the news recently as regards baby bottles because of a study released by Environment California that found BPA in the five most popular polycarbonate baby bottles. (Reading that report is probably the best way to absorb all the various impacts potentially attributed to bisphenol A in plastics.) Then the National Institutes of Health picked the whole thing up to examine what's happening, and that seems to be ongoing. Phthalates I've discussed before on numerous occasions; they are also chemicals that are added to and leach out of plastics and can then perhaps disrupt our reproductive systems. Bad, the whole thing is bad."
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Time for True Market Reform
Leaving the Gready American Machine .. in the dust!!!!
"China has long rejected the Washington Consensus model and modified it to create its path of a social market economy where markets are seen as 'good servants but bad masters.' Europeans favor the mixed social market economy and now most Latin American countries are rejecting the US formulas in favor of the Chinese and European models. In earlier years, the economies of Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore grew on the Asian model of markets steered and regulated by governments.
Socially–responsible pension fund trustees and mutual fund managers launched the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing representing over $6 trillion in assets. The Carbon Disclosure Project, representing $31 trillion held by global asset managers demands disclosure of carbon emissions. These financiers are giving new meaning to market reform. (see www.ethicalmarkets.com). They demand that companies in their portfolios also focus on making markets more ethical. They employ the new accounting protocols of the "Triple Bottom Line" that go beyond the traditional single bottom line of profit and also improve their governance, social and environmental performance. This is not surprising since today, bad behavior entails new kinds of risk to companies' stock prices: social, environmental and reputational risk, measured by financial services firms such as Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Truecost and others.
The Information Age has also morphed in to a new Age of Truth, where a company's reputation, precious brands and stock can be broken in real time by negative postings by global watchdog groups such as Corpwatch.org and Global Exchange. Individual investors, making common cause with labor unions, environmentalists and social justice groups have fueled this new definition of market reform, representing $2.3 trillion in assets in the USA alone. Even the Nobel Committee gave its Peace Prize to Mohammad Yunus, banker to the poor.
....
....
Market reform is coming to mean reforming markets and capitalism itself. Would Adam Smith be surprised? Probably not, since he lauded the dynamism of capitalism. Schumpeter later saw the evolution of markets as "creative destruction," as seen today in the new "disruptive" technologies of cleaner, greener energy and resource-use now challenging coal, oil, and nuclear power. The new values and ethical concerns driving the further evolution of capitalism reflect the new imperatives of the 21st century on our small, endangered planet. Smith's famous "invisible hand" turned out to be our own…not some metaphysical force. Guided by our growing human awareness of what we have wrought on this planet and our potential for further development, all our long-term self-interests are now indivisible . Ethics and morality are becoming the new pragmatism.
HAZEL HENDERSON, futurist,syndicated columnist,author of many books including Ethical Markets: Growing The Green Economy (2007), also co-created the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators, updated."
"China has long rejected the Washington Consensus model and modified it to create its path of a social market economy where markets are seen as 'good servants but bad masters.' Europeans favor the mixed social market economy and now most Latin American countries are rejecting the US formulas in favor of the Chinese and European models. In earlier years, the economies of Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore grew on the Asian model of markets steered and regulated by governments.
Socially–responsible pension fund trustees and mutual fund managers launched the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing representing over $6 trillion in assets. The Carbon Disclosure Project, representing $31 trillion held by global asset managers demands disclosure of carbon emissions. These financiers are giving new meaning to market reform. (see www.ethicalmarkets.com). They demand that companies in their portfolios also focus on making markets more ethical. They employ the new accounting protocols of the "Triple Bottom Line" that go beyond the traditional single bottom line of profit and also improve their governance, social and environmental performance. This is not surprising since today, bad behavior entails new kinds of risk to companies' stock prices: social, environmental and reputational risk, measured by financial services firms such as Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Truecost and others.
The Information Age has also morphed in to a new Age of Truth, where a company's reputation, precious brands and stock can be broken in real time by negative postings by global watchdog groups such as Corpwatch.org and Global Exchange. Individual investors, making common cause with labor unions, environmentalists and social justice groups have fueled this new definition of market reform, representing $2.3 trillion in assets in the USA alone. Even the Nobel Committee gave its Peace Prize to Mohammad Yunus, banker to the poor.
....
....
Market reform is coming to mean reforming markets and capitalism itself. Would Adam Smith be surprised? Probably not, since he lauded the dynamism of capitalism. Schumpeter later saw the evolution of markets as "creative destruction," as seen today in the new "disruptive" technologies of cleaner, greener energy and resource-use now challenging coal, oil, and nuclear power. The new values and ethical concerns driving the further evolution of capitalism reflect the new imperatives of the 21st century on our small, endangered planet. Smith's famous "invisible hand" turned out to be our own…not some metaphysical force. Guided by our growing human awareness of what we have wrought on this planet and our potential for further development, all our long-term self-interests are now indivisible . Ethics and morality are becoming the new pragmatism.
HAZEL HENDERSON, futurist,syndicated columnist,author of many books including Ethical Markets: Growing The Green Economy (2007), also co-created the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators, updated."
Bill Moyers What Free Government
Who knows the History, real History? Morality of what? National Security Act of 1947. Arms sales for oil. What's new? What happened to Senator Frank Church??
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Snakes in Suits
In a study of high-performing businesspeople, as many as one of every 30 was found to be a psychopath, a rate several times higher than that of the general population. A psychopath has no conscience and no ability to develop one. We think of psychopaths as serial killers, but in reality, many psychopaths just want money or power. They think nothing of ruining someone else's career if it helps them get ahead.
Example: Frank had a wonderful relationship with his company's CEO until Dave, a recently hired psychopath in his department, started telling the CEO that Frank was criticizing the CEO's leadership behind his back. The CEO believed Dave's lies, fired Frank and gave Dave his job.
IDENTIFYING A PSYCHOPATH
When we first meet psychopaths, we might sense that something isn't quite right, even if they seem friendly. This vague sense of unease could be the primitive part of our brain warning us that we're in the presence of a predator. If at some level you feel there is something wrong with a new coworker, keep an eye out for lies and more subtle deceptions. Psychopaths will...
Find reasons to blame other people whenever anything goes wrong.
Take credit for others' work.
Spread damaging rumors, and try to break down existing friendships.
Quickly deduce coworkers' weaknesses and exploit them.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Paul Babiak, PhD, industrial and organizational psychologist and president of HRBackOffice, an executive coaching and consulting firm, Dutchess County, New York. He is coauthor, with Robert D. Hare, PhD, of Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (ReganBooks).
Friday, March 30, 2007
Fwd: What Happy People Know That You Don't
What Happy People Know That You Don't
I once worked with a woman who vacuumed her house every single morning -- before she left for work. Now I knew this about my colleague only because her young daughter dropped it one day in casual conversation... her attitude being one of "Doesn't everybody?" Well, no, everybody doesn't... but neither does it matter. Still, my colleague considered her cleaning addiction crazy enough that she kept it her little secret. The truth is, every one of us has crazy behaviors and beliefs.
These are what one character in the movie "The Family Stone" referred to as a freak flag. And how much easier it would be, the movie implies, if we all carried around "freak flags" that announced our personal craziness for the world to see.
WHAT IS YOUR FREAK FLAG?
Life coach Lauren Zander of the Handel Group (www.handelgrouppc.com) agrees completely with the concept of flying personal freak flags. Being upfront about our crazy quirks is not only truthful, she says, it also acknowledges that everyone has a variety of them. They belong to and brand us and are the interesting things we do that make us human. She notes that a giant realm of personal craziness includes the category of food and eating -- from chowing down behind closed doors to never co-mingling foods on a plate.
Sexuality is another big area of personal quirks and preferences. Although universal, most people feel too weird about their sexual attitudes and ideas to speak honestly about them. Professional athletes have their crazy secret beliefs about what will help them win a tournament. Children have rituals, objects or imaginary friends they use to help them feel safe. Grown-ups have a wide variety of behaviors or harmless biases they cling to for a bevy of reasons. Example: Ask pack rats why they insist on keeping all that "stuff" with no obvious worth or value.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
As human beings, we are all in the same interesting and weird boat, Lauren observes, trying to grow up and deal with our small vices -- but at the same time wanting to be "normal" and look good to others. Let it go, she says. Claim the joy to be found in admitting to your quirks. Fessing up to the crazy quirks is funny and freeing and endows people with a new sense of control about their behavior.
Accepting your own quirks also provides an opportunity for a whole new understanding of the quirks and freakiness of your spouse, kids, parents and friends. A huge percentage of marital squabbles involve one spouse's intolerance of the other spouse's quirks -- remember the classic toothpaste tube argument? Everyone around you has his/her own set of quirks that you can either learn to love as part of who that person is... or you can let them drive you crazy. I have a friend who never sends thank you notes -- not even for her wedding or baby gifts. I know that she is a loving and generous and devoted friend. So, I accept that she is not wired to send thank you notes. Some people might sever a relationship over not being thanked and sacrifice all the great things that are part of that lifelong relationship.
FINDING YOUR OWN
It is possible that crazy quirks are so well hidden they are hard even for the individual to find. To find yours, Lauren advises looking first for any behavior or attitude you don't want other people to know about. That is certain to be a freak flag candidate. Another place to look: At your grievances and annoyances about other people. If certain things about others really bug you, chances are strong that there is a little personal freak flag in there. As an example, Lauren notes that arrogance in others makes some people furious, but probably they carry around arrogance themselves, just better disguised. Because people are not generally bothered by behaviors that don't exist somewhere in themselves, being upset is a big signal to go looking at that.
Identifying it and accepting that bit of freakiness will loosen the steam you have built about your grievance and annoyance about others, Lauren says.
It may feel scary to fly a freak flag at first, but be brave. It won't take long to start experiencing the rewards. By admitting to your own craziness you bring a fresh openness in your dialog with others. By acknowledging, for example, that my husband is right in telling me that I sometimes forget things if I don't write them down allows us to have fun with my "forgetful-ism" and also creates a structure in our relationship that supports my need to write things down. It's now a big family loving joke about the notes I leave for myself for fear of forgetting.
Being honest about yourself, stripped of spinning and lying, gives people around you permission to put up their flags as well. Flying the flags breaks down the boundaries between you and the barriers to real human nature -- at last, everyone starts to be who they really are.
What Happy People Know That You Don't
* Meredith Haberfeld, co-founder and CEO, and Lauren Zander, principal, Handel Group Private Coaching (www.handelgrouppc.com).
I once worked with a woman who vacuumed her house every single morning -- before she left for work. Now I knew this about my colleague only because her young daughter dropped it one day in casual conversation... her attitude being one of "Doesn't everybody?" Well, no, everybody doesn't... but neither does it matter. Still, my colleague considered her cleaning addiction crazy enough that she kept it her little secret. The truth is, every one of us has crazy behaviors and beliefs.
These are what one character in the movie "The Family Stone" referred to as a freak flag. And how much easier it would be, the movie implies, if we all carried around "freak flags" that announced our personal craziness for the world to see.
WHAT IS YOUR FREAK FLAG?
Life coach Lauren Zander of the Handel Group (www.handelgrouppc.com) agrees completely with the concept of flying personal freak flags. Being upfront about our crazy quirks is not only truthful, she says, it also acknowledges that everyone has a variety of them. They belong to and brand us and are the interesting things we do that make us human. She notes that a giant realm of personal craziness includes the category of food and eating -- from chowing down behind closed doors to never co-mingling foods on a plate.
Sexuality is another big area of personal quirks and preferences. Although universal, most people feel too weird about their sexual attitudes and ideas to speak honestly about them. Professional athletes have their crazy secret beliefs about what will help them win a tournament. Children have rituals, objects or imaginary friends they use to help them feel safe. Grown-ups have a wide variety of behaviors or harmless biases they cling to for a bevy of reasons. Example: Ask pack rats why they insist on keeping all that "stuff" with no obvious worth or value.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
As human beings, we are all in the same interesting and weird boat, Lauren observes, trying to grow up and deal with our small vices -- but at the same time wanting to be "normal" and look good to others. Let it go, she says. Claim the joy to be found in admitting to your quirks. Fessing up to the crazy quirks is funny and freeing and endows people with a new sense of control about their behavior.
Accepting your own quirks also provides an opportunity for a whole new understanding of the quirks and freakiness of your spouse, kids, parents and friends. A huge percentage of marital squabbles involve one spouse's intolerance of the other spouse's quirks -- remember the classic toothpaste tube argument? Everyone around you has his/her own set of quirks that you can either learn to love as part of who that person is... or you can let them drive you crazy. I have a friend who never sends thank you notes -- not even for her wedding or baby gifts. I know that she is a loving and generous and devoted friend. So, I accept that she is not wired to send thank you notes. Some people might sever a relationship over not being thanked and sacrifice all the great things that are part of that lifelong relationship.
FINDING YOUR OWN
It is possible that crazy quirks are so well hidden they are hard even for the individual to find. To find yours, Lauren advises looking first for any behavior or attitude you don't want other people to know about. That is certain to be a freak flag candidate. Another place to look: At your grievances and annoyances about other people. If certain things about others really bug you, chances are strong that there is a little personal freak flag in there. As an example, Lauren notes that arrogance in others makes some people furious, but probably they carry around arrogance themselves, just better disguised. Because people are not generally bothered by behaviors that don't exist somewhere in themselves, being upset is a big signal to go looking at that.
Identifying it and accepting that bit of freakiness will loosen the steam you have built about your grievance and annoyance about others, Lauren says.
It may feel scary to fly a freak flag at first, but be brave. It won't take long to start experiencing the rewards. By admitting to your own craziness you bring a fresh openness in your dialog with others. By acknowledging, for example, that my husband is right in telling me that I sometimes forget things if I don't write them down allows us to have fun with my "forgetful-ism" and also creates a structure in our relationship that supports my need to write things down. It's now a big family loving joke about the notes I leave for myself for fear of forgetting.
Being honest about yourself, stripped of spinning and lying, gives people around you permission to put up their flags as well. Flying the flags breaks down the boundaries between you and the barriers to real human nature -- at last, everyone starts to be who they really are.
What Happy People Know That You Don't
* Meredith Haberfeld, co-founder and CEO, and Lauren Zander, principal, Handel Group Private Coaching (www.handelgrouppc.com).
Thursday, March 29, 2007
LiveScience.com - Alarming Decline of Sharks Causing Other Species to Vanish
Oh daaa... Damb can people get really STUPID!!!
LiveScience.com - Alarming Decline of Sharks Causing Other Species to Vanish: "The precipitous decline in large predator sharks in the Atlantic Ocean in the past decade has made ecologists worry about a trickle-down effect on the ocean ecosystem.
A new study supports the case. With the large predators gone, their prey—smaller sharks and rays—are free to feast on lower organisms like scallops and clams, depleting valuable commercial stocks.
“Large sharks have been functionally eliminated from the East Coast of the U.S., meaning that they can no longer perform their ecosystem role as top predators,” said study team member Julia Baum of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Disappearing sharks
Shark populations all over the world have plummeted because of intentional fishing for their fins, which are eaten and used for medicines in Asia
For this study, published in the March 30 issue of the journal Science, the researchers looked at surveys of populations of 11 great shark species, conducted between 1970 and 2005. Every species had substantially declined in just those few decades. The smallest observed decline was in sandbar shark populations, which had decreased nonetheless by 87 percent. Other species, including the bull, dusky and smooth hammerhead sharks, may have declined by more than 99 percent.
LiveScience.com - Alarming Decline of Sharks Causing Other Species to Vanish: "The precipitous decline in large predator sharks in the Atlantic Ocean in the past decade has made ecologists worry about a trickle-down effect on the ocean ecosystem.
A new study supports the case. With the large predators gone, their prey—smaller sharks and rays—are free to feast on lower organisms like scallops and clams, depleting valuable commercial stocks.
“Large sharks have been functionally eliminated from the East Coast of the U.S., meaning that they can no longer perform their ecosystem role as top predators,” said study team member Julia Baum of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Disappearing sharks
Shark populations all over the world have plummeted because of intentional fishing for their fins, which are eaten and used for medicines in Asia
For this study, published in the March 30 issue of the journal Science, the researchers looked at surveys of populations of 11 great shark species, conducted between 1970 and 2005. Every species had substantially declined in just those few decades. The smallest observed decline was in sandbar shark populations, which had decreased nonetheless by 87 percent. Other species, including the bull, dusky and smooth hammerhead sharks, may have declined by more than 99 percent.
“They’re all down dramatically,” said study co-leader Charles Peterson of the University of North Carolina."
Personal mobility - One Planet Business - WWF Microsites
Oh cool, do I have the solution for YOU... lol...
Personal mobility - One Planet Business - WWF Microsites: "This first project of One Planet Business aims to inspire and catalyse change towards mobility and access solutions within planetary limits.
Passenger transport is placing an ever-growing demand on global resources and the climate’s absorptive capacity. Currently, the final demand for personal mobility represents 26% of the word’s CO2 emissions. Current technological advancements in personal mobility are not keeping pace with the rate of growth or the scale of the challenge, not least the minimum 60% reductions required in CO2 emissions. It seems clear that further solutions have to be explored.
One Planet Business Personal Mobility will explore the fundamental drivers for change, such as:
* identifying the barriers impeding a complete technological revolution for low-carbon mobility;
* exploring the possibilities for switching to low-impact transport and how this could be encouraged;
* questioning the value of such high levels of mobility in promoting a better quality of life and identifying which areas of mobility consumers may actually like to reduce (e.g. commuting);
* understanding how shifts in lifestyles could reduce personal mobility;
* thinking through the economic consequences of changing mobility patterns; and
* exploring access to key services such as shop"
Personal mobility - One Planet Business - WWF Microsites: "This first project of One Planet Business aims to inspire and catalyse change towards mobility and access solutions within planetary limits.
Passenger transport is placing an ever-growing demand on global resources and the climate’s absorptive capacity. Currently, the final demand for personal mobility represents 26% of the word’s CO2 emissions. Current technological advancements in personal mobility are not keeping pace with the rate of growth or the scale of the challenge, not least the minimum 60% reductions required in CO2 emissions. It seems clear that further solutions have to be explored.
One Planet Business Personal Mobility will explore the fundamental drivers for change, such as:
* identifying the barriers impeding a complete technological revolution for low-carbon mobility;
* exploring the possibilities for switching to low-impact transport and how this could be encouraged;
* questioning the value of such high levels of mobility in promoting a better quality of life and identifying which areas of mobility consumers may actually like to reduce (e.g. commuting);
* understanding how shifts in lifestyles could reduce personal mobility;
* thinking through the economic consequences of changing mobility patterns; and
* exploring access to key services such as shop"
Mom's beef puts son's sperm count at stake - Los Angeles Times
I wonder about all the other crap they feed cattle, chickens and fish.. Like the GMO's modified to like more pesticides. . .
Mom's beef puts son's sperm count at stake - Los Angeles Times: "Men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during their pregnancy have a sperm count about 25% below normal and three times the normal risk of fertility problems, researchers reported Tuesday.
The problem may be due to anabolic steroids used in the United States to fatten the cattle, Dr. Shanna H. Swan of the University of Rochester Medical Center reported in the journal Human Reproduction. It could also be due to pesticides and other environmental contaminants, she added.
If the sperm deficit is related to the hormones in beef, Swan's findings may be 'just the tip of the iceberg,' wrote biologist Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri-Columbia in an editorial accompanying the paper.
In daughters of the beef-eaters, those same hormones could alter the incidence of polycystic ovarian syndrome, the age of puberty and the postnatal growth rate, he said.
'It's a small effect, but it is a significant effect,' said Dr. Ted Schettler, an environmental health specialist at the Institute for Global Communications in San Francisco. 'It's not surprising. The more you look at dietary factors, the more you turn up interesting information about how diet during pregnancy affects lots of aspects of human health.'"
Mom's beef puts son's sperm count at stake - Los Angeles Times: "Men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during their pregnancy have a sperm count about 25% below normal and three times the normal risk of fertility problems, researchers reported Tuesday.
The problem may be due to anabolic steroids used in the United States to fatten the cattle, Dr. Shanna H. Swan of the University of Rochester Medical Center reported in the journal Human Reproduction. It could also be due to pesticides and other environmental contaminants, she added.
If the sperm deficit is related to the hormones in beef, Swan's findings may be 'just the tip of the iceberg,' wrote biologist Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri-Columbia in an editorial accompanying the paper.
In daughters of the beef-eaters, those same hormones could alter the incidence of polycystic ovarian syndrome, the age of puberty and the postnatal growth rate, he said.
'It's a small effect, but it is a significant effect,' said Dr. Ted Schettler, an environmental health specialist at the Institute for Global Communications in San Francisco. 'It's not surprising. The more you look at dietary factors, the more you turn up interesting information about how diet during pregnancy affects lots of aspects of human health.'"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Biz magazines spotlight the sustainability revolution | By John Elkington, Mark Lee | Grist | Full Disclosure | 27 Mar 2007
"If the business press is any indication, sustainability issues have risen up the corporate ladder and are now seen as a central challenge for companies in the coming decades.
Fortune
In its first-ever green issue, Fortune commends '10 Green Giants' -- corporations that are making impressive environmental gains. The editors decided to bypass GE and Wal-Mart, whose eco-endeavors have been heavily publicized, and instead highlight companies whose sustainability efforts have been less high-profile recently -- among them, Hewlett-Packard, Continental Airlines, S.C. Johnson, Suncor, and Alcan. While its list focused on big, mainline corporations, its cover went to an idealistic maverick who runs a 350-employee, uber-eco outdoor-gear company -- Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia.
Fortune's Marc Gunther writes in an intro to the green package that environmentalism in corporate America has gone beyond mere compliance and efficiency: 'Now we're at the threshold of a different era, one in which smart companies are trying to figure out how to profit by solving the world's big environmental problems.'
Fast Company would seem to agree. Its latest annual "Fast 50" edition -- which spotlights trendsetting companies and leaders -- features California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on the cover and lauds him for "focusing the power of the free market on major problems" like climate change and dependence on foreign oil. In fact, this year the "Fast 50" is wholly focused on companies aiming to be green or socially responsible, from NativeEnergy to EcoFish to Home Depot, which now boasts that 95 percent of its wood products come from sustainably managed forests. The issue's lead essay argues that we have to shift to Business 3.0 -- a new, socially and environmentally sustainable set of economic and business models that acknowledge "we can't continue indefinitely to cannibalize our life-support systems for spare parts.""
Fortune
In its first-ever green issue, Fortune commends '10 Green Giants' -- corporations that are making impressive environmental gains. The editors decided to bypass GE and Wal-Mart, whose eco-endeavors have been heavily publicized, and instead highlight companies whose sustainability efforts have been less high-profile recently -- among them, Hewlett-Packard, Continental Airlines, S.C. Johnson, Suncor, and Alcan. While its list focused on big, mainline corporations, its cover went to an idealistic maverick who runs a 350-employee, uber-eco outdoor-gear company -- Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia.Fortune's Marc Gunther writes in an intro to the green package that environmentalism in corporate America has gone beyond mere compliance and efficiency: 'Now we're at the threshold of a different era, one in which smart companies are trying to figure out how to profit by solving the world's big environmental problems.'
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Paris Embraces Plan to Become City of Bikes - washingtonpost.com
Someone is getting smart out there... lol...
"On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city, an ambitious program to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city's image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.
"On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city, an ambitious program to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city's image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.
By the end of the year, organizers and city officials say, there should be 20,600 bikes at 1,450 stations -- or about one station every 250 yards across the entire city. Based on experience elsewhere -- particularly in Lyon, France's third-largest city, which launched a similar system two years ago -- regular users of the bikes will ride them almost for free.
"It has completely transformed the landscape of Lyon -- everywhere you see people on the bikes," said Jean-Louis Touraine, the city's deputy mayor. The program was meant "not just to modify the equilibrium between the modes of transportation and reduce air pollution, but also to modify the image of the city and to have a city where humans occupy a larger space."
The Socialist mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delano?, has the same aim, said his aide, Jean-Luc Dumesnil: "We think it could change Paris's image -- make it quieter, less polluted, with a nicer atmosphere, a better way of life."
"Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Wilhelm Reich
Freud is the founder of the modern study of Psychology. His main theory is that sexual frustration leads to mental and emotional illness, which manifests primarily as Frustration- Aggression Syndrome, Transferral of Guilt onto innocent others, and simple hateful jealousy against those better than ourselves.
This all carried over into Reich's works, such as: "The Murder of Christ...The Emotional Plague", which is about how we destroy those superior than ourselves, thus ending their vital ministries to mankind. Also: "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", in which the ass-kissing cowardly populace knowingly conforms to an erroneous norm, sacrificing the brave and courageous, in order to save their cowardly, dishonorable selves.
Like I always said: "They will sacrifice any Truth, no matter how sacred, on the altar of selfish and cowardly conformity. To put it into perspective: They have rejected their own Salvation, in order to protect themselves from the "puta", which is really their own irrational fear and the government to which it gave rise. I always said: Get rid of the bitch and the horse it rode in on." Because of what all of you are, I fear for the life of the world and its multitude of living creatures
This all carried over into Reich's works, such as: "The Murder of Christ...The Emotional Plague", which is about how we destroy those superior than ourselves, thus ending their vital ministries to mankind. Also: "The Mass Psychology of Fascism", in which the ass-kissing cowardly populace knowingly conforms to an erroneous norm, sacrificing the brave and courageous, in order to save their cowardly, dishonorable selves.
Like I always said: "They will sacrifice any Truth, no matter how sacred, on the altar of selfish and cowardly conformity. To put it into perspective: They have rejected their own Salvation, in order to protect themselves from the "puta", which is really their own irrational fear and the government to which it gave rise. I always said: Get rid of the bitch and the horse it rode in on." Because of what all of you are, I fear for the life of the world and its multitude of living creatures
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted | Changemakers
What It Is: A Changemakers competition awarded to the best idea for a socially entrepreneurial project could help battle corruption.
Why it Matters: Because corruption is a major global problem, making more difficult solutions to all the other problems we face, and while some great proposed solutions exist -- from spreading tools for transparency to paying leaders to eschew corrupt practices -- we need new and better solutions for rooting it out.
Particularly worth a look is this mosiac of innovative solutions, which describes some of the barriers to ending corruption (cynicism and apathy, lack of accountability, few vehicles for participation) and a few of the existing projects which aim to overcome those barriers in various ways (empower citizens, shame and prosecute corrupt leaders, etc.).
Operative Quote: "However you define or experience it, corruption is a disease that infects and impoverishes society. From the "lubricating" corruption of everyday bribe seekers among traffic police, hospital caregivers, permit administrators, customs agents, or prison guards—little by little grinding down those who need their services and approvals—to the 'venal' corruption of self-interested political 'kleptocrats' emptying entire national coffers, corruption is a poison that eats away at communities and institutions to devastating effect. 'Business as usual' is all too often replete with access for some, dead ends for many, and tortuous alleys of shady dealing that affect us all. ... The World Bank estimates that the cost of corruption represents about seven percent of the annual world economy, roughly $2.3 trillion. This is a staggering amount ... a figure that is larger than the entire federal budget of the United States government ($2.2 trillion)."
"Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms"
Submitted by Roberto Wohlgemuth on March 16, 2007 - 12:57.
The United Nations Global Compact was created as a multilateral initiative supporting corporate social responsibility. It was launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos. It comprises ten principles derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
On 24 June 2004, during the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit it was announced that the UN Global Compact includes a tenth principle against corruption: "Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery."
How is this principle implemented? What is the level of response from the business sector? What social innovations are promoting corporate social responsibility, including the work of businesses against corruption?
Roberto Wohlgemuth
Changemakers: an Ashoka Initiative
Friday, March 23, 2007
LiveScience.com - Healthier Tomatoes Grown in Seawater
"Healthier Tomatoes Grown in Seawater
By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
posted: 22 March 2007
08:41 am ET
Tomatoes irrigated with diluted seawater grow with significantly higher levels of healthy antioxidant compounds, new research shows.
'It'd be interesting to see if this might be a more general phenomenon, where a little salt induces antioxidants in lots of crops,' said botanist Edward Glenn at the University of Arizona, who did not participate in the new study. 'There could be a consumer wave toward salt-tolerant crops based on their nutritional properties.'
The option to use salty water on crops might help farmers deal with growing irrigation woes. Irrigation water, as well as drinking water, is growing scarce and deteriorating in quality around the world.
Nearly 70 percent of all available freshwater is used for agriculture. Use of water for irrigation has increased globally by more than 60 percent since 1960, according to United Nation statistics. At the same time, poor irrigation and drainage practices have led to salt buildup in roughly one-eighth of all irrigated land.
The researchers investigated tomatoes, which are grown worldwide and are moderately salinity tolerant. They grew various types of tomatoes, including those commonly used for salads, under different levels of salinity and investigated the fruit for nutrients.
The researchers found that growing tomatoes in 10 percent seawater improved antioxidant levels significantly, findings they detailed in the April 4 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Glenn noted the water that percolates out from normally irrigated soil, technically known as irrigation return flow, is often as salty as 10 percent seawater. "About a third of irrigation water becomes irrigation return flow, so there's a huge amount of this brackish water, and this research now suggests this could get reused for crops," Glenn told LiveScience.
For decades, research has shown that seawater can irrigate crops, "but there's an impression (that) the crops seawater can irrigate are low value," Glenn said. "Farmers want a good return for their investment and time, and tomatoes are really high value. Also, crops like tomatoes are sold based on consumer appeal, and if you have an extra going for you like high antioxidant levels, this could be quite valuable."
By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
posted: 22 March 2007
08:41 am ET
Tomatoes irrigated with diluted seawater grow with significantly higher levels of healthy antioxidant compounds, new research shows.
'It'd be interesting to see if this might be a more general phenomenon, where a little salt induces antioxidants in lots of crops,' said botanist Edward Glenn at the University of Arizona, who did not participate in the new study. 'There could be a consumer wave toward salt-tolerant crops based on their nutritional properties.'
The option to use salty water on crops might help farmers deal with growing irrigation woes. Irrigation water, as well as drinking water, is growing scarce and deteriorating in quality around the world.
Nearly 70 percent of all available freshwater is used for agriculture. Use of water for irrigation has increased globally by more than 60 percent since 1960, according to United Nation statistics. At the same time, poor irrigation and drainage practices have led to salt buildup in roughly one-eighth of all irrigated land.
The researchers investigated tomatoes, which are grown worldwide and are moderately salinity tolerant. They grew various types of tomatoes, including those commonly used for salads, under different levels of salinity and investigated the fruit for nutrients.
The researchers found that growing tomatoes in 10 percent seawater improved antioxidant levels significantly, findings they detailed in the April 4 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Glenn noted the water that percolates out from normally irrigated soil, technically known as irrigation return flow, is often as salty as 10 percent seawater. "About a third of irrigation water becomes irrigation return flow, so there's a huge amount of this brackish water, and this research now suggests this could get reused for crops," Glenn told LiveScience.
For decades, research has shown that seawater can irrigate crops, "but there's an impression (that) the crops seawater can irrigate are low value," Glenn said. "Farmers want a good return for their investment and time, and tomatoes are really high value. Also, crops like tomatoes are sold based on consumer appeal, and if you have an extra going for you like high antioxidant levels, this could be quite valuable."
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