Add Flax to the Grocery List

More reasons to buy flax seeds (ground 'em up and sprinkle on salads) and flax seed oil. New research offers evidence that including flax in the diet may help prevent colorectal tumors or keep tumors from growing as quickly when they do form. The new South Dakota State University research results were published February in the peer-reviewed international journal Nutrition and Cancer.

Soap Smuggling - Everyday Eco-villians

Commonfolk smuggle soap across state borders to feed phospate addiction - details here

Foul Air Leads to Infertility?

Pollution may hit below the belt - details here

The Face on Your Plate

"Collective denial has been our modus operandi." Thoughtful WaPo book reviews on the prevailing "don't ask-don't tell" food culture sheds light on food that's bad for the eater as well as the eaten. Click here

Event Waste Rescue

Robin's April 5 Eco Simple column in the Examiner newspapers nationwide. The topic: Event Waste Rescue. Access the San Francisco edition by clicking the title above. SF edition: http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=26&refresh=Zi5120yC1xN9&EID=9cd40f00-2f82-4181-a1be-e8d116e7a820&skip=
DC edition: http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=42&refresh=7Ee1x0Z6Y31c&EID=9255354b-66ba-45f4-a509-5b3df379753c&skip=

Artful Spring Break in NYC

Click the title for Robin's April 3 article in Lenny Campello's Art News.

Image: Future New York, The City of Skyscrapers, 1910s. One of the postcards on view at the Met. Artist unknown. Photomechanical reproduction. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walker Evans Archive.

Soy when young helps cut disease risk

Asian-American women who ate higher amounts of soy during childhood had a 58% reduced risk of breast cancer, according to a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Check this site for tasty recipes and soy health facts http://www.soyfoods.org

Possessive Dogs: Preventing and Stopping Resource Guarding

Resource guarding involves aggressive possessive behavior over food, treats, toys, objects, space, and/or humans.

Click the title above for the latest Dog Tip, which includes guidance, tip sheets and other resources from top dog behavior experts.

Are you making your dog aggressive?

Reported in Science Daily: In a year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified. See the story at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141540.htm

Short animal shelter documentary

Click the headline above or this image to view a short film about realities faced at animal shelters. Without words, it gives voice to the voiceless who are at the mercy of human stewards of the earth.

Workouts and insomnia

Good sleep is key to good health. But half of women in a newly published survey reported having insomnia. Caffeine and stress contribute to “bad sleep hygiene,” but here’s another little-known factor we can do something about.

Body temperature drops about one degree during sleep. Don’t work out too close to bedtime, says Raul Noriega, manager of the Comprehensive Epilepsy and Sleep Disorders Center at Baylor Regional Medical Center. He says it takes e hours to cool down enough to get drowsy. Avoid that temptation to check the clock when having trouble sleeping – because even minor exertion consumes energy, which raises the body’s temperature, further delaying sleep.

Shreveport Chefs Gone Wild

Robin's article about healthy-meets-hedonistic southern cuisine in the editions of the Examiner nationwide. Click the headline above to access the DC edition.

How to Create a Nature Preserve at Home

This Sunday's Eco Simple column...in editions of the Examiner nationwide. Click the headline above to access the article.
Links to 2 of the editions (DC and San Francisco):

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=c0b0ce47-fe80-4c27-bc9d-521dd4a447d5&pnum=30

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=6490121b-f3de-4908-8429-2e7ca5093a1e&pnum=40

Bulk buyer alert: nutrients can decline quickly in potency

The recession is motivating more shoppers to stock up when fave foods go on sale. But beware: the potency of healthy nutrients can decline in short time. For example, new studies indicate degradation of the immunity-boosting antioxidant organic compounds called catechins in green tea leaves after long-term storage. And that olive oil sitting on your shelf may lose up to 40 percent of its health benefits within six months. These are among studies in the March 2009 Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

Safety Alert: Common Flea and Tick Products

Click the headline for this new report.

Dog Tip: Attention!

Click the headline above to access the tipsheet about getting your dog to pay attention. Can apply to your spouse, kids and others.

Albuquerque Vistas by Man and Nature

Click the headline for a just-published travel piece by Robin

Life, and Death, on a Factory Farm

Click the headline to a link about HBO's new undercover documentary, Death on a Factory Farm. That webpage links to schedule, video preview, and resources such as Humane Farming Association. BTW, you don't have to be into animal rights to take a stand against animal cruelty. See TIME for an interview with an undercover agent at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1883742,00.html

Death by Plastic

Leatherback turtles survived the extinction of the dinosaurs. But they may not survive manmade plastic. “After reviewing the results of 371 necropsies since 1968, we discovered over one third of the turtles had ingested plastic,” said Dalhousie University biologist Mike James last week upon releasing the study based on post-mortem examinations. So when at the beach, or anywhere near the water, you can do these ancient mariners a favor by picking up trash. A bonus: bending burns calories and counts as exercise.

Downed Cow Legislative News

Long-accepted in this country has been the abuse of downer cattle—animals too sick or injured to walk. Wayne Pacelle, chief of the Humane Society of the United States, reports that on March 14, President Obama announced that the USDA was officially putting a stop to non-ambulatory cattle being mishandled on the way to slaughter plants. In December 2003, a downer cow tested positive for mad cow disease in Washington state; in response, some 50 nations banned U.S. beef imports, and the federal government tried in vain to recall meat. Economic fall-out of that incident: $11 billion. We oppose mistreatment and cruelty regardless of economic impact, but sadly in this world, animals suffer in silence while money talks.