Yard full of pet threats

Click here for article about finding and ridding threats to pets in your yard.

Docs speak out about EDCs - BPA, phlatates, DDT, receipt paper

Receipt paper, hard plastic bottles, food can liners, baby bottles, plastic bags, drugs, many cosmetics...what do they have in common? These and other products contain compounds linked by hundreds of research studies to endocrine and reproductive system disruption. Last week, the Endocrine Society issued its first-ever statement confirming concerns about EDCs, or endocrine disruption chemicals (BPA or bisphenol A, phlatates and DDT, etc.) is evidence-based.

The concerns aren’t new. More than 15 years ago at the first World Wildlife Fund Wingspread Conference, expert scientists concluded “Many compounds introduced into the environment by human activity are capable of disrupting the endocrine system of animals, including fish, wildlife, and humans.” EDCs affect the hormones that control physical development.

And a decade ago, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was given a mandate to develop test protocols to screen for endocrine effects of chemicals.

Since then, hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have shown associations between EDC exposure and adverse impact in humans. During the same period, new manmade chemicals have been added to the synthetic scene, and scientists have expressed concern about EDCs’ potential role in the increasing occurrence of behavioral disorders, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Possible impacts on animals include early breast development in young women, breast and prostate cancer in humans, bird deaths, sex reversal and infertilify in fish, birth defects in amphibians, and high levels of anthropogenic (man-made) chemicals in polar bears, beluga whales, killer whales and Arctic foxes.

Skipping breakfast as diet-wrecker, declining testosterone effects among ENDO 09 topics

Robin will be writing for some other publications on some new study findings presented last week at ENDO 09, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society (endo-society.org). These include:

* The power of a healthy breakfast in taming cravings for diet-busting foods. Another study proves the health value of eating breakfast, but explains why a nutritious breakfast (fruits and some carbs) curb appetite throughout the day. Study participants who skipped breakfast displayed far greater activity in the brain's reward centers when shown high-calorie junk food than those participants who ate a healthy breakfast. So evidently skipping a meal predisposes people on a neurobiological level to go for diet-busting foods.

* Declining testosterone levels in men as they age has now been linked to weight gain and the cluster of health problems known as metabolic syndrome.

Small: The next big thing?

Really tiny houses ... Robin's subject in this Sunday's Eco Simple column for the Examiner newspapers. Click to access the DC edition or San Fran edition.

Poster art rocks: new Paper Jam exhib

Civilian Art Projects on 7th St. NW in D.C. opens its second exhibition of music-based posters. PAPER JAM: The Art and Grime of the East Coast Rock Poster. Can't get there in person? Click here for a virtual visit.

Stress-free vet visits? Handling cats and dogs better

Dr. Sophia Yin on the radio. Topic: Visiting vets, driving, giving pills and other handling other typically stressful situations with less, or no, stress using such techniques as counter-conditioning. Includes great, easy tips for calming frightened cats. Click to listen.

Art spots: Albuquerque

Art happenings in Albuquerque - check Robin's new piece in Daily Art News here.

Motivational posters don't...

Results from a recent University of Iowa study suggest that motivational posters and geegaws are de-motivators for people who are not naturally upbeat. Researchers suppose that these individuals are skeptical and question motives.

Myth busted: exercise beats calcium for bone health

Myth busted: drink milk, eat dairy products and take calcium supplements to improve bone health and prevent osteoporosis. Nope, writes Univ of NC health and wellness professor Amy Lanou in a new book co-written with Michael Castleman titled "Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis." d

The book shows why eating low-acid foods and taking daily walks are the most effective ways to prevent bone loss.
Recommendations: eat six to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables and no more than one or two servings of high-protein foods. Why? Because protein is composed of amino acids. As the body digests high-protein foods, the blood becomes more acidic, leaching calcium from the bones. That can eventually cause osteoporosis, the authors say.

Fruits and vegetables also contain some protein, but less than meat, dairy and eggs. And fruits and vegetables also contain a great deal of alkaline material, which neutralizes the acid. So the body does not have to draw calcium compounds out of bone.

Lanou and Castleman found that since 1975, 140 clinical trials have explored calcium's effects on osteoporotic fracture risk. Overall, the clinical trials dealing with fracture prevention run two-to-one against calcium, the authors noted. They found that the consensus of bone/exercise research shows that 30 to 60 minutes of daily walking is enough to build strong bones. So: Walk Every Day.

Biomimicry: Learning from nature's intelligent designs

The solutions to human challenges don't have to be expensive, toxic or out-of-reach. Check this new article on biomimicry.

‘Warrior Gene’ linked to joining gangs and using weapons

Boys who carry a variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), AKA the “warrior gene,” are more likely to join gangs, to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from Florida State University. More here.

Cuts and sneezes not backing up the ER

Masters student Andre Maddison won the 2009 Mythbusters Award for research indicating that non-urgent patients aren’t why emergency departments are so backed up. “Emergency department overcrowding is a national problem with potentially devastating effects,” he said. “It is rooted in insufficient physical and human resources and poor integration within and between hospitals.”

Pregnant? Watch those plastics

Newborn girls exposed in the womb to phthalates scored poorly on a standard behavior test. Phthalate metabolites found in the mothers' urine were associated with the girls' poor performance on tests of attention and alertness. This is the first study to link phthalates to neurological development effects in humans. Previous studies have linked phthalates to altered genital development, obesity, diabetes risk and poor sperm quality. Details here. And here's an interesting site all about bottled water.

Go BOINGO: Best WiFi for travelers

As a frequent traveler, I can tell you that all mobile/WiFi services are not created equal. The best I've found is Boingo. The service is even better than the name. Unlike T-Mobile, you can access it in places like Atlanta Hartsfield airport. $7.95 for mobile WiFi...$9.95 for laptop WiFi (what I use). Unlimited. Like roaming without fees. Hotspots in 100,000 places worldwide. Click here for Boingo details.

Free: National parks for 3 weekends

Just in time for vacation planning: Entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments nationwide, including the Grand Canyon, will be waived June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.

Sustainable town planning

On May 21, we attended a National Building Museum/American Planning Association symposium examining a century of city planning. Discussion snippets:

* Carolina Barco, Columbia’s Ambassador to the U.S., described Bogota’s evolution. In 1992, the city was overwhelmed by crime, traffic jams and other ills. Planners devised a multi-pronged solution including improved public transportation, better policing, an arms-for-food exchange, and building libraries next to parks and closing bars by 1 a.m. Bike commuting was encouraged and peak time license plates were issued, getting 40% of the cars off streets during rush hour.

* University of Michigan’s Robert Fishman resurrected a book about urban utopias. Projects included Yorkship Village’s elegant 1918 wartime emergency housing in Camden NJ and the Radburn NJ greenbelt town proposed four decades before Columbia, MD. Lessons learned: simple beats comprehensive and highways spawn sprawl; once the National System of Interstate Highways was approved, “the toothpaste was out of the tube.”

* University of Florida dean Chris Silver spoke about visions for new cities that would reverse overcrowding and underservice.

Weight loss study of the month

Overweight individuals who ate a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet high in plant-based proteins for four weeks lost weight and experienced improvements in blood cholesterol levels and other heart disease risk factors, according to a report in the June 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. A high-carbohydrate, low-fat vegetarian diet also resulted in weight loss but without the additional cardiovascular benefits.

Dog Tip: Check out Dr. Yin's site

Good source for dog care advice (besides yours truly). Dr. Sophia Yin wrote The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook, How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves, and Low Stress Handling, Restraint, and Behavior Modification in Cats and Dogs. Her studies have ranged from vocal communication in dogs to behavior modification in horses and giraffes. Check out her website.

Angels and demons: Inhumane humans

Sad stories this week: someone set a gentle pit bull on fire (article here); someone else horribly beat another innocent dog. Speak up for the voiceless. Please watch the video in the linked article, and most of all, please care.

Animals feel regret

Yep, just as we figured...article in today's New York Times.