May 11, 2011
May 10, 2011
Overhauling the world's insane food system
Prince Charles discusses the disastrous effects of modern industrial agriculture, environmental and health destruction, and what people and governments can, and must, do, starting now. Excellent presentation demanding a read - it's here.
May 9, 2011
Trade group pays restaurants, foodmakers to add cheese and promote cheese dishes
Dairy trade promotion group pays restaurants add cheese to dishes and to advertise those dishes. They know that research studies confirm that cheese is addictive.Cheese contains casomorphins http://nyti.ms/mUnEFH
May 5, 2011
Animal art-spotting in Sioux Falls
May 3, 2011
YouTube caves to meat profiteers; bans cruelty documentary video
Gratuitous raunch is OK by YouTube, but not documentaries that would raise awareness. Businesses want you to keep your head buried in the sand so that you'll remain an obedient, mindless consumer. Article here.
CALL OF LIFE mass extinction film - trailer
Perez Hilton: More evidence that celebs are more ethical than elected govt officials
As he says, what America needs are more cameras on factory farms, not fewer.
Literally cool, supersized blimps for mass cargo transport
May 2, 2011
Firefighters fired up over vegan shape-up diet
From TX to Detroit to Bethesda, real men going vegan. Click link above.
Pet allergies: smart tips for dealing with them
Pets with allergies? Pets allergic to their people? Pets allergic to each other? Read on: http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/560650/How-to-deal-with-pet-allergies.html
May 1, 2011
Beachside lighting to help nesting sea turtles
Sea turtles are nesting now. Help them hatch and live with these easy beachside lighting basics (dim those lights, save lives). Tips here.
Apr 29, 2011
God's true believers eat mercifully
Anti-videotaping on farms bills: Good farmers don't fear a free press
"Good farmers don't fear a free press," say conservatives who've come out against bills that would criminalize video reporting of livestock operations. Article here
Werner Herzog's new film Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Large animals depicted in cave art some 32,000 years old...found in France. Clip here.
Apr 28, 2011
Cost of Pathogens from Meat: sickness, tax dollars, environmental destruction
Meat and big agrobusiness passes on massive external costs to society. Read the Washington Post report here.
Apr 27, 2011
Marcellus Shale gas well accident poisoned environment
When Chesapeake Energy lost control of a Marcellus Shale gas well in Pennsylvania on April 19, an emergency response team from Texas was called in to stop the leak. By the time the team arrived more than 13 hours later, brine water and hydraulic fracturing fluids from the well had spewed across nearby fields and into a creek. Why did a team have to be called in from Texas? Read on and know.
Huge safety cover-ups at Japan nuclear plant
Accident waiting to happen - and did. Excellent NY Times report. Whistleblower silenced, cover-uppers kept posts or promoted, safety violations and recommendations overruled in favor of saving money. Read it here
The REAL costs of the nation's Cheap Food system - this vid sums it up
The real "external" costs of our nation's Cheap Food system - taxes, envir damage, cruelty - video says it in a nutshell
Apr 26, 2011
Animal medical experimentation: expensive and ineffective - expose
"Despite their similarity to humans, chimps don't react to infection the same way." Other countries turn to better research models and more modern, cost-effective models, while some US researchers receiving research dollars don't want to change.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/04/24/112433/as-science-turns-from-chimp-research.html#ixzz1KeeNKe5D
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/04/24/112433/as-science-turns-from-chimp-research.html#ixzz1KeeNKe5D
Rare turtle saved from strangulation by fishing line, garbage
Apr 25, 2011
Food Inc. film inspires families to become farmers
Food Inc. inspired this family to buy 30 acres and become farmers. Story here.
Even worse than an oil spill?
"Commercial fish catch has declined by 500,000 tons per year since 1988, not for lack of effort, money or technology — in fact because of those factors — but for lack of fish. The danger becomes dual, says Danson: “If you’re overfishing at the top of the food chain, and acidifying the ocean at the bottom, you’re creating a squeeze that could conceivably collapse the whole system.” Good article here
Apr 22, 2011
Apr 21, 2011
Got milk? Then you got drugs - contamination in dairy products
Apr 20, 2011
Pigs think, feel, cry: S.Korea mass-burying alive
Shame on S.Korean bureaucrats who decreed the mass burying alive of living, sentient beings. You can see the terror on the hogs' faces and hear it in their screams. A humane alternative to mass-burial would have even been cheaper had the decision not been hurried by freak-out. Even the farmers and overseers cried (well, at least some of them).
Ecovores, mind your cook-print
"Somewhere along the line, the annual media chatter surrounding Earth Day turned partly into a conversation about what we eat and how we cook it...." Denise O'Toole Kelly writes in the Daytona News-Journal. Read on here.
New video exposing horrid cruelty to calves
Why livestock/milk industry lobbying to outlaw reporting on factory farms: NEW Video - No Mercy - Farm Cruelty Exposed. Do you think this treatment is OK? http://t.co/UaWNKoI
Different Views of God May Influence Academic Cheating
Belief in God doesn't deter a person from cheating on a test, unless that God is seen as a mean, punishing one, researchers say. On the flip side, undergraduates who believe in a caring, forgiving God did cheat. (This makes me think of politics.) Read all about it: Different Views of God May Influence Academic Cheating
Apr 19, 2011
5 myths about Vegans - busted
Here in the Washington Post Outlook section: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-vegans/2011/03/31/AF1wbw0D_story.html
Apr 18, 2011
Big Oil keeping billions of land-lease dollars owed to taxpayers
Big break for big oil, larger burden for taxpayers. Even as leaders grapple with the nation’s fiscal troubles and urge expanded drilling for natural resources, their failure to remedy the decades-old systemic shortcomings at the Interior Department may have allowed billions of dollars in royalties to slip away, increasing the burden on taxpayers. Center for Public Integrity
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/04/15/4155/big-break-big-oil-larger-burden-taxpayers
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2011/04/15/4155/big-break-big-oil-larger-burden-taxpayers
Apr 17, 2011
Oil, gas companies injecting tons of toxins into public water
Yellowstone turning into Ghost Park
Yellowstone turning into Ghost Park: Men’s Journal reports on loss of trout, pines, other species due to human-caused pollution #climatechange http://bit.ly/ftUivz
Potent rat poisons killing wildlife
Potent rat poisons causing owls, bobcats, birds, other animals to die grisly deaths. Read the Sacramento Bee article here. 
Get rid of tax breaks to fix economy
Click link above for NYTimes article. And here's a separate AP report from today:
The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year.... Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.
The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year.... Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.
Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent.
The top income tax rate is 35 percent, so how can people who make so much pay so little in taxes? The nation's tax laws are packed with breaks for people at every income level. There are breaks for having children, paying a mortgage, going to college, and even for paying other taxes. Plus, the top rate on capital gains is only 15 percent.
There are so many breaks that 45 percent of U.S. households will pay no federal income tax for 2010, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
Apr 16, 2011
Anti-Whistleblower laws: why they're anti-American as well as pro-cruelty
Anti-Whistleblower laws: why they're anti-American as well as pro-cruelty. Read this
Apr 15, 2011
Orlando: Veggin' out along I-Drive
Apr 14, 2011
Algae Could Replace 17% of U.S. Oil Imports
new study shows that being smart about where we grow algae can drastically reduce how much water is needed for algal biofuel. Growing algae for biofuel, while being water-wise, could also help meet congressionally mandated renewable fuel targets by replacing 17 percent of the nation's imported oil for transportation, according to a paper published in the journal Water Resources Research..... water use is much less if algae are grown in the U.S. regions that have the sunniest and most humid climates: the Gulf Coast, the Southeastern Seaboard and the Great Lakes. "Algae has been a hot topic of biofuel discussions recently... click here: Algae Could Replace 17% of U.S. Oil Imports
Apr 12, 2011
Popular Diets: Do They Prevent Cancer?
Popular Diets: Do They Prevent Cancer? Some do! You can lose weight and reduce risk of most cancers through doable diets - click and read about the evidence.
Pot growing is eco-hostile
Pot growers eco-friendly? NOT! Pollution generated by pot growers...who knew? NYTimes report http://nyti.ms/gjK7Mw
Apr 11, 2011
Gulf oil spill effects on animals, plants, water - short and long term
Insightful article rounds up best-case scenarios, as projected by oil industry-funded studies, and more sober studies looking at wider/deeper locations and to the long-term. In the NY Times...click here
Authors Explain Why Certain Foods Can Be Addictive
“These modern foods are deliberately designed to stimulate and excite our taste buds and brains. They all contain refined carbohydrates which, after becoming nutritionally neutered via processing, are often produced with refined sweeteners—both real and artificial, fats and problematic trans-fats, unnaturally high amounts of dietary omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable and manufactured oils, salt, a cornucopia of artificial chemicals, dyes and additives that make these packaged items lethal to our health and addictive to many.”
“Processed food manufacturers know this and create their formulas and recipes with this in mind. They hope you will become addicted to their product. Packaged food items are the highest-profit items in a grocery store; consequently, they are allotted the most space. It is profits, not health, that drive these products, advertising and sales..." Authors Explain Why Certain Foods Can Be AddictiveApr 5, 2011
How So-Called Healthy Foods Can Fool You
How So-Called Healthy Foods Can Fool You Let the eater beware.
Zoos - would you visit a zoo with lower standards of care?
Apr 4, 2011
Human impacts on animal behavior, migration - NYTimes
Key part of article: Humans add even more complexity to the forecast. Cities and farms now block the path for many species that might otherwise be able to spread to more suitable habitats, for example. Dr. Parmesan thinks much more research should go into the interactions of global warming and other human impacts. Scientists in Australia have found that coral reefs are more resilient against global warming, for example, if they’re protected from overfishing. The warming oceans stimulate the growth of deadly algae on the reefs. But grazing fish can keep the algae in check.
Such research will become the basis for decisions about which species to help, and how. Dr. Mace believes that some especially vulnerable species may need to be moved to new habitats in order to survive. Dr. Parmesan thinks that reducing other pressures, like overfishing, will make species more resilient to climate change. “We know that climate change wouldn’t be such a big problem if systems weren’t already stressed,” Dr. Parmesan said. “We really need to focus on reducing these other stressors.”
Dr. Pearson, on the other hand, argues for setting aside more land in parks and reserves. More space will help keep species ranges large even if those ranges shift. “We need to give nature the opportunity to respond,” he said.
Apr 1, 2011
Mar 31, 2011
Fly Girl: Xtreme BASE jumping
You can practice your moves at iFLY indoor skydiving in Orlando. Lodge nearby at The Peabody Hotel.
Mar 30, 2011
Ideal diet for health and weight loss
Study/info here. Free to reprint.http://perfectformuladiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Vegan-from-the-Inside-rept.pdf
Mar 28, 2011
New flavor lust spots in Cambridge, Mass.
Mar 26, 2011
Mar 25, 2011
Mar 23, 2011
CTIA: Mobile tech more amazing by the minute
As national media was abuzz with talk of AT&T's possible acquisition of T-Mobile, dozens of new tech products and apps were introduced at CTIA 2011 in Orlando. The huge Orange County Convention Center hosted the main event, with satellite shows at nearby venues such as the newly renovated and expanded Peabody.
The vastness of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association show is no surprise given such estimates as 211 million smartphone users by 2015, and the increasing reliance on wireless technology to make fields from transportation to medical care more efficient and cost-effective.
This being the year of the tablet, several companies unveiling new iPad competitors. The 4G LG G-Slate will be available within weeks. Summer's more likely for the HTC EVO View, a Sprint 4G touchscreen with 3D view/capture ability and what I call a smart-stylus that lets you draw and conjure like a magician.
Smartphones are getting smarter. HTC will soon ship its EVO 4G smartphone, also with 3D. And the new rubberized hard-shell EVO case integrates a bottle opener. Kyocera's new ECHO smartphone has a dual screen that you can combine to view full web page or multitask and a finger-friendly upsized onscreen keyboard.
So what to do with the gadgets you replace? In addition to electronics recycling centers, there's Gazelle, which helps you get bids on the device, provides you with a postage-paid shpping label to get it to their center, and wipes your personl data for your security. If they can't rehome it, they'll dispose it in an eco-appropriate manner. If it sells, you get the money via PayPal or an Amazon gift card, or you can have the funds donated to charity.
Gaining traction fast: mHealth, meaning the use of mobile technology to improve health and health care. One CTIA panel focused on Lake Nona Medical City in Orlando, which has become a model tech-connected community of 25,000 residents, two new hospitals, a new medical school, research institutes, medical offices and retailers.
To help families and caregivers protect cognitively impaired people prone to wandering off (Alzheimers patients, children with autism), there's EmFinders. It employs the E-9-1-1 network to locate and recover wanderers 24/7 and isn't subject to GPS range limits.
Recharging solutions continue to evolve. Qi Wireless Power Consortium has 80 members committed to a standardized inductive charging technology, and that cool name and logo. It's a more energy-efficient way to charge, and it stops the charge when the battery is fully charged. Energizer has jumped on that with its Inductive Charger that using a smart pad instead of wires.
Radio Shack's got game in the form of $29.99 and $49.99 chargers for iPhones and iPods. Mophie Juice Packs integrate acrechargeable lithium polymer battery and pass-through USB into a protective case, can can virtually double the power.
Then there's the award-winning Scosche FlipSync charge and sync cable for mobile devices that folds into a compact key fob. Placed on a your keyring, you'd always have it on hand.
The connected universe is still ape over apps. New ones debuted at the show include Boingo's free WiFinder for Android, Apple, etc. to locate open wifi signals, including Boingo's own 325,000 worldwide. Company folk think the app will show mobile websurfers how many strong, certain Boingo hotspots they'll find on the road.
Combining fun with function, Case Mate debut their $24.99 Monsta line of phone/device cases. For $39.99, its “I Make My Case” makes a cute gift for creative types.
And for voyeuristic types, there's the Viewdle, a face recognition cinematic tool. Use a mobile phone's camera to pick out faces, tag them and post to your social network on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like.
Mar 19, 2011
Ocean garbage: Floating landmines
Ocean garbage: Floating landmines. Islands of garbage small and large increasingly floating toward shore. Trash strangling and poisoning marine mammals, birds, turtles and other animals. And it's getting worse because factories and individual people are using Earth's waters as dumpsters.
Mar 16, 2011
Mar 12, 2011
Mar 11, 2011
Mar 10, 2011
Agro-ecology, simple farming could double world farming output
MATCH gourmet mock meats expanding
Mar 7, 2011
Mar 4, 2011
Boston: The Vegans are Coming! Some with their dogs.
Mar 3, 2011
Feb 28, 2011
Feb 26, 2011
Bodybuilder busts vegan myths - benefits, nutritional levels +++
14 minutes, not a professional speaker, but interesting and packed with guidance for athletes and anyone seeking better health.
Feb 25, 2011
Vegan dining on the road: "What do you eat?"
Feb 24, 2011
Chili pepper wine, spicy jokes, gorgeous mountain winery
Chili pepper wine, spicy jokes and a spectacular orchard setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Read about a hilarious wine tasting at Peaks of Otter Winery in this new Washington Post travel article hereFeb 20, 2011
Animal abusers commit other crimes - baltimoresun.com
Feb 19, 2011
Dirty horrendous poultry mega-farms exposé
Feb 18, 2011
Albuquerque loves dogs and bikes
Feb 17, 2011
Feb 16, 2011
Rise of the Hegans
Rise of the "hegans" - muscle men and power dudes going vegan and mainly veg...Charleston newspaper report here: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/feb/15/rise-of-the-hegans/Feb 15, 2011
Deer spay - kudos to Baltimore
Deer sterilization program - kudos Baltimore on effective nonviolent solution
Feb 11, 2011
Palm Springs: Modernist and Canyon Oasis
Feb 8, 2011
Lights, camera, Jacksonville
Feb 4, 2011
Simple life freer, happier, cheaper - USAToday
Oregon couple downsizes, lives ultrasimple life - USATODAY.com Good report from a simple living / small house cohort. How much money do you think you need to make live happily?
New USDA guidelines praise vegetarian/vegan diets for health
New USDA Guidelines Praise Vegetarian Diets for healthy, fitter living : http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/new-usda-guidelines-praise-vegetarian-diets
Feb 3, 2011
SEEtheWILD new ecotour venture
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