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The major cattle cloning companies in the United States have admitted that they have not bothered to try and keep meat from the offspring of clones out of the U.S. food supply, in spite of a request by the FDA several years ago.

“This is a fairy tale that this technology is not being used and is not already in the food chain,” said Donald Coover, who owns a specialty cattle semen business. “Anyone who tells you otherwise either doesn’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re not being honest.”

Coover admitted that for several years, he has been openly selling semen from cloned bulls. He is sure, he added, that others are doing the same.

The revelation came as the FDA approved cloned beef as safe for human consumption but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asked farmers to keep it out of the food supply anyway.

The USDA’s primary concern is that if cloned beef enters the U.S. food supply, other countries might refuse to purchase beef from the United States. Similar problems have emerged in the past with genetically modified U.S. crops being rejected, particularly in Europe but also in parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas. Insiders from agencies such as the USDA and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative noted that a product that no other country wants to buy might do the United States more harm than good.

The USDA’s request for a moratorium on cloned beef is meant to give time for “an acceptance process” that will be needed “given the emotional nature of this issue.”

A survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation found that 22 percent of U.S. residents surveyed had a favorable impression of cloned meat in 2007, as opposed to 16 percent in 2006. Approximately 50 percent had a negative impression of such food.

The FDA has rejected calls to require the labeling of food produced from cloned animals.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

Compact fluorescents have had their time in the sun; it’s time to herald the era of LEDs, say advocates. Light-emitting diodes are bright, extremely long-lasting, über-efficient, and can color-shift by remote control (fun!). The bulbs shine in many traffic lights, colored the Times Square ball on New Year’s Eve, may soon light up the Empire State Building, and are becoming the bulb of choice for commercial lighting. Many bulb manufacturers expect that they’ll soon light up a slew of households as well; so sure is Philips Lighting, in fact, that it is spending no R&D money on CFLs, focusing solely on LEDs. The downside, however, is price. A 60-watt incandescent bulb costs about $1, a comparable CFL costs $2; Philips will introduce its equivalent LED bulb in September at the eyebrow-raising price of $107. That will no doubt drop as time goes on, but some experts say the barrier is high enough that LEDs’ reach will remain limited.

Source: www.grist.org

High gasoline prices in the United States have prompted a sustained cutback in driving, and the resulting dip in revenue from the federal gas tax is already canceling plans for infrastructure projects due to lack of funding. Right now, roughly one-quarter of bridges in the U.S. are either “functionally obsolete” or “structurally deficient,” and one out of every seven miles of U.S. roads is rated “not acceptable,” according to government assessments. Some $225 billion a year is needed to keep U.S. transportation infrastructure in tip-top shape, and current spending is less than half that. Now with the dip in federal highway funds, as well as rising construction costs, the outlook for many aging U.S. roads and bridges is uncertain at best unless Congress can pass funding soon. The National Highway Trust Fund is expected to accrue a deficit of at least $5 billion next year. To ease the funding crunch, the Bush administration wants to ease restrictions on charging tolls for interstate highways and make it easier for states to use private funding for infrastructure improvements.

Source: www.grist.org

Eating high levels of some soy products, such as tofu, could raise the risk of memory loss.

A study that examined more than 700 elderly Indonesians found that high tofu consumption (at least once a day) was associated with worse memory, particularly among those over age 68.

Soy contains phytoestrogens, which may heighten the risk of dementia.

However, tempeh, a fermented soy product made from the whole soy bean, has been associated with better memory. This could be related to the fact that it contains high levels of the vitamin folate, which is known to reduce dementia risk.
Sources:

* BBC News July 4, 2008
* Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders June 27, 2008; 26(1):50-57 [Epub Ahead of Print]

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

The deceptive hype created by the soy industry — which in many ways is not much different than that of the pharmaceutical industry — has unfortunately been very successful in convincing millions of people that soy is a health food.

Their brainwashing propaganda has cleverly created “healthy soy” — one of the biggest health myths in the health food industry to date.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Kaayla Daniel for my Inner Circle Experts Series, and I also reviewed her book, The Whole Soy Story, which covers this issue at great depth. It’s a must-read if you’re still convinced that soy is good for you and your children, because nothing could be further from the truth.

It is crucial, however, to make a distinction between the health effects from fermented versus non-fermented soy, which I will go over toward the end of this comment, because as you will see, fermented soy dishes do have some redeeming qualities that conventional soy products lack.

Perfect Food or Brilliant Propaganda?

In recent years soy has emerged as a ‘near perfect’ food, with supporters claiming it can provide an ideal source of protein, lower cholesterol, protect against cancer and heart disease, reduce menopause symptoms, and prevent osteoporosis, among other things.

But how did such a ‘perfect’ food emerge from a product that in 1913 was listed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) handbook not as a food but as an industrial product?

Lipid specialist and nutritionist Mary Enig, PhD shed some light on this issue when she said, “The reason there’s so much soy in America is because they [the soy industry] started to plant soy to extract the oil from it and soy oil became a very large industry. Once they had as much oil as they did in the food supply they had a lot of soy protein residue left over, and since they can’t feed it to animals, except in small amounts, they had to find another market.”

In short, the soy industry CREATED a market where there was none, to profit from their waste products. It required multi-million dollar advertising campaigns and intense lobbying to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but now about three-quarters of U.S. consumers believe soy products are healthy.

It’s like a re-run of the water fluoridation propaganda machine, which began in the 1940s as solution to the fluoride pollution from aluminum plants. The disposing of fluoride had become a costly problem that needed a radical solution. The solution was to create the false belief that fluoride had some health benefit, and today, not only are you likely consuming this toxic waste product in your municipal tap water, but you may even believe it’s good for your teeth, AND industry is getting PAID rather than paying for toxic waste removal…

Soy has become a grossly misunderstood food category, to be added to the ranks of coconut oil, saturated fats and vegetable oils. The two former have gained a negative reputation where a good one actually applies, whereas vegetable oil, along with soy, have emerged with sparkling reputations that cover up an unsavory truth.

The Truth About Soy

For just a brief look at what’s really going on, consider that numerous studies have found that soy products can actually:

• Increase thyroid damage, especially in women
• Increase the risk of breast cancer in women, brain damage in both sexes, and cause abnormalities in infants
• Contribute to thyroid disorders, especially in women
• Promote kidney stones
• Weaken your immune system
• Cause severe, potentially fatal food allergies

Despite these findings, many people still want to believe the hype, thinking that these studies must somehow be wrong. But the content of soy itself should be a clue. For example, non-fermented soy products contain:

• Phytoestrogens (isoflavones) genistein and daidzein, which mimic and sometimes block the hormone estrogen
• Phytates, which block your body’s uptake of minerals
• Enzyme Inhibitors, which hinder protein digestion
• Haemaggluttin, which causes red blood cells to clump together and inhibits oxygen take-up and growth
• High amounts of omega-6 fat, which is pro-inflammatory

Furthermore, most soybeans are grown on conventional farms that use toxic pesticides and herbicides, and many are from genetically engineered plants. When you consider that two-thirds of all processed food products contain some form of soy, it becomes clear just how many Americans are consuming GM products, whose long-term effects are completely unknown.

Like Feeding Birth Control Pills to a Baby

One of the most disturbing ill effects of soy has to do with its phytoestrogens, which can mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen. These phytoestrogens have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues, and drinking just two glasses of soy milk daily for one month has enough of the chemical to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle.

The FDA regulates estrogen-containing products, however no warnings exist on soy.

Soy products are particularly problematic for infants, and soy infant formulas should be avoided at all cost. It’s been estimated that infants who are fed soy formula exclusively receive the equivalent of five birth control pills worth of estrogen every day!

When testing the blood of soy formula-fed infants, concentrations of isoflavones have been found to be 13,000 to 22,000 times higher than natural estrogen concentrations in early life. It should be obvious that the potential damage to your child can be quite significant. Not to mention the fact that soy formula lacks other vital nutrients for normal and healthy brain- and biological development.

Soy Also Contributes to Dangerously Lopsided Intake of Essential Fats

One of the most important things you can do for your overall health is to balance your intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These two types of fat are both essential. However, the typical American consumes far too many omega-6 fats in their diet while consuming very low levels of omega-3.

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats is probably close to 1:1. But the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 today averages from 20:1 to 50:1!

That spells serious danger for your health. Even the mainstream health media is now reporting that lack of high quality omega-3 is one of the most serious health issues plaguing contemporary society.

The primary sources of omega-6 are corn, soy, canola, safflower and sunflower oil; oils that are overabundant in the typical American diet. And when you consider the fact that some form of soy or corn (oftentimes both) is found in just about every processed food product on the market, it really helps to explain these excessive omega-6 levels.

What About Soy as a Source of Protein?

While soybeans are relatively high in protein compared to other legumes, they are still a poor source of protein because other proteins found in soybeans act as potent enzyme inhibitors.

These “anti-nutrients” block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion, effectively cancelling out any potential benefit you may have thought it had.

Regular soy consumption can also lead to chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake.

It is believed that it is this ability to interfere with enzymes and amino acids that might be one of the reasons for why soy has such a negative effect on your brain. Isoflavones in tofu and other soy foods might exert their influence by interfering with the tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanisms required for optimal hippocampal function, structure and plasticity.

High amounts of tyrosine kinases are found in your hippocampus, a brain region involved with learning and memory. One of soy’s primary isoflavones, genistein, has been shown to inhibit tyrosine kinase in the hippocampus, effectively blocking the mechanism of memory formation.

If You Want to Benefit From Soy, Make Sure it is Fermented !

There are some redeeming qualities to soy, however these are found primarily in fermented soy products like tempeh, miso, natto and soybean sprouts.

If you want to get some health benefits from soy, stick to these four forms and pass on ALL processed soy milks, tofu, soy ‘burgers’, soy ‘ice cream’, soy ‘cheese’, and the myriad of other soy junk foods that are so readily disguised as health foods.

The study above affirms this as well, showing that consumption of tempeh was related to better memory, particularly in participants over 68 years of age. Their explanation for this difference between (unfermented) tofu versus (fermented) tempeh is that the fermentation process produces high amounts of folate, which might have a protective effect against the phytoestrogens.

Additionally, not only does the fermentation process blunt the anti-nutritive effect of the soybeans’ phytic acid, it also produces probiotics — the “good” bacteria your body is absolutely dependent on – that increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilation of nutrients in your body.

As a side note, formaldehyde (used as a preservative) was also introduced as a potential culprit rather than the tofu itself in this article. Granted, formaldehyde is somewhere at the very bottom of the list of things you want to consume for good health, but even so, there are so many studies confirming the benefits of fermented soy and the dangers of non-fermented soy products in general that I believe preservatives play a secondary role in the outcome, if any.

Soy is a broad and deep subject that cannot be fully covered in a single article, so for further reading, I recommend you review my related articles below as well as my Soy Index Page, which contains links to many of my best articles and important research findings on soy.

www.mercola.com

The obesity epidemic in America is now so out of control that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has decided it would be a good idea to start giving statin drugs to children as young as eight years old, according to their latest published policy outlined in a clinical report entitled “Lipid Screening and Cardiovascular Health in Childhood.” The report is authored by Stephen R. Daniels, MD, PhD, Frank R. Greer, MD and the AAP Committee on Nutrition. Not surprisingly, an article by Lindsey Tanner of The Associated Press points out that Daniels has worked as a consultant to Abbott Laboratories and Merck (on matters unrelated to their cholesterol drugs). One can only imagine the new visions of dollar signs that the pharmaceutical companies must have dancing in their heads.

Cholesterol Screening for Two-Year-Olds?

A visit to the pediatrician may soon include screening children and adolescents with a fasting lipid profile. The AAP now recommends cholesterol screening for all children who are overweight or obese. Children who have parents or grandparents that developed heart disease at an early age or have other risk factors are also candidates for screening. The AAP is recommending that children be screened as early as age two. Imagine that. If Gramps had a heart attack at a young age, Junior may have to get a blood workup before he even starts preschool. According to the AAP Committee on Nutrition, if Junior is 8 years or older “with an LDL concentration of 190 mg/dL (or 160 mg/dL with a family history of early heart disease or 2 additional risk factors present or 130 mg/dL if diabetes mellitus is present), pharmacologic intervention should be considered.”

AAP Ignores rBGH Issue

Interestingly enough, the AAP recommends that children drink low-fat milk but makes absolutely no mention whatsoever of avoiding red meat and milk that comes from cows injected with the bovine growth hormone (rBGH). The Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility recommends that people not consume products from cows that have been injected with any kind of bovine growth hormone, citing that it increases disease rates in cows and has been linked to possible increases in cancer and antibiotic resistance in humans. Moreover, Fairview Industries, a biochemistry research firm in Wisconsin, contends that use of rBGH produces milk which contains cow blood serum protein in it, and in certain children, this protein has been found to promote diabetes.

The use of the bovine growth hormone has been banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and in the 27 countries of the European Union. Why is it that the U.S. generally seems to lag behind other countries when it comes to such important safety issues? In fact, some informed consumers may wonder if it is even advisable to give children cow’s milk at all, considering that there are many other dietary sources of calcium. For example, just 2 teaspoons of basil contains only 7.5 calories and has 63.4 mg of calcium, according to the nutritional profile at WHFoods.org.

Doctors and Drug Chemists Question Safety of Statins

According to Tanner’s article, Daniels believes that cholesterol drugs are “generally safe” for children. Now, there’s a shocker, because there are many doctors who don’t even think they are safe for adults. Shane Ellison, a former pharmaceutical chemist, doesn’t have anything nice to say about statins, either, in a report called “Life Saving Cholesterol Facts” published at NewsWithViews.com.

A Peek Inside of Grocery Carts

While the AAP Committee on Nutrition does advise nutritional counseling and increased physical activity for certain groups of patients, they seem to ignore the undeniable fact that little children don’t get high cholesterol because they have a statin drug deficiency. Usually one look inside of the family’s grocery cart can give a pretty good indication of which children will have problems with cholesterol. Parents who think pepperoni pizza is the perfect food because it has something from each of the four food groups (there really are people who believe this) or that organic, cream-filled cookies are a health food will probably have children recommended for cholesterol screening. If the only thing resembling fruit in the shopping cart is the filling inside of a toaster tart, the kids eating this junk are going to be at risk.

Lipid Profiles for Tots not the Answer

Parents wishing to learn more about nutrition should definitely view the documentary called All Jacked Up. In a review of the movie, Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, states: “It’s focused almost entirely on showing you what’s wrong with the ‘Standard American Diet’ and the real cost of that diet in terms of disease, emotional distress and broken lives. It’s up to you, the viewer, to decide what kind of diet you want to pursue after watching the movie, but make no mistake: You will automatically choose a healthier diet after watching this film! You can’t help it. All Jacked Up speaks to your brain in a way that instantly changes your behavior.” It’s too bad many doctors seem more focused on medication than on prevention. If they were, they’d be recommending that expectant mothers view this film rather than cholesterol screening for two-year-olds.

About the author
Joanne Waldron is a computer scientist with a passion for writing and sharing health-related news and information with others. She runs the Naked Wellness: The Gentle Health Revolution forum, which is devoted to achieving radiant health, well-being, and longevity.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

When it comes to modern food production, there are many “cides” to the story. You can’t even talk about food production without hearing lots of different “cides” such as pesticides, fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. I thought we’d add another cide to the story and include genocide.

The word suffix “cide” means something is being killed, by the way. “Pesti-cide” means something that kills pests. “Fungi-cide” means something that kills fungus. “Herbi-cide” means something that kills plants (herbs). Similarly, “Geno-cide” loosely means killing a targeted group of people, usually for some evil purpose of control, profit or cultural extermination.

And isn’t that exactly what the food corporations are doing to the world right now? Isn’t it a form of genocide to intentionally contaminate the public food supply with toxic chemical additives, cancer-causing preservatives, hydrogenated oils, sodium nitrite, MSG, petroleum-based food coloring chemicals and more? Isn’t it corporate genocide being committed against the people?

I find it interesting that if terrorists put a chemical in the food supply that killed a million people, it would be called a great crime against humanity, and we’d probably bomb some nation into dust in retaliation. But when a U.S. food corporation puts chemical additives into the food that ultimately kill a million people through heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes, nobody seems to notice. Food companies have been given a free pass to commit genocide by the very people who are supposed to be regulating them: the FDA and USDA in the United States, and other regulatory agencies in Europe, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

This cartoon attempts to depict the cost in human lives of depending on a chemical-based agricultural system in the modern world. We spray chemicals on the food, mill it into a substance that’s nutritionally worthless, contaminate it with cancer-causing chemicals, package it in wasteful boxes and plastic containers that create enormous landfill problems, then stuff it into vending machines that line the halls of hospitals, public schools, offices and museums. This is what we call “food.” It is, of course, a complete lie. This “food” has almost nothing in common with real food from nature.

But that’s what passes for the food that many people eat. Even if they’re eating at home, most consumers still buy packaged, processed foods that contain all the same chemicals as vending machine food. Is it any wonder so many people are dying from preventable diseases in the western world? The people are being poisoned every day by the food supply. It’s no secret. Many of the poisons are listed right on the label: Sodium nitrite, hydrogenated oils, FD&C colors, propylene glycol, aspartame, saccharin, phosphoric acid, high-fructose corn syrup and more. (See my book Grocery Warning for details on how to identify and avoid these harmful ingredients.)

If they only knew the other “cide” of food production, many those consumers would wise up and think twice about what they’re buying. That’s why informed people have increasingly decided to buy organic whenever possible. Organically produced food isn’t subjected to all the chemical pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. So it’s healthier for you and easier on the environment (because where do you think all those chemicals go after the next rain? They end up down stream…) Plus, organic food has been scientifically shown to possess higher densities of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (plant-based natural medicines) compared to conventionally grown food.

So buy organic. Save yourself (and your family) from genocide. And read those ingredients labels. Don’t buy foods made with chemicals you can’t pronouce. Keep your diet clean, simple, sustainable and organic, and you won’t become the next victim of a monstrous food industry that continues to commit “Consumercide.”

By the way, I first heard this riff — “pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, genocide” — in a speech by David Wolfe, the co-founder of Nature’s First Law (www.RawFood.com). He’s also the author of several books on raw foods and cacao. His website is an online retailer of an incredible assortment of gourmet raw foods and truly healthy food ingredients. I shop there on a regular basis.

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, www.naturalnews.com

Dr, Kaayla Daniel and Dr. Galen Knight have observed that even when people follow healthy dietary guidelines, they can still have serious health problems. They may digest their food poorly, experience digestive distress, or be generally sickly.

One reason may be toxic metals like:

• Mercury
• Aluminum
• Cadmium
• Arsenic
• Lead
• Nickel, and other metal poisons that flood the environment and invade your body.

These toxic metals can cause or contribute to a long list of diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain and neurological disorders. While the medical establishment recognizes the acute toxicity that comes from high levels of metals in your body, far more people suffer the adverse effects of low-level, chronic exposure.
Sources:

* Mad as a Hatter — How to Avoid Toxic Metals and Clear Them From the Body (PDF)

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

Most people are absolutely clueless about just how toxic mercury is. It is toxic at one in one billion-part quantities. That is about the same concentration of one grain of salt in one swimming pool. That is why having mercury fillings is such a major challenge to your health.

Heavy metal toxicity, just like chemical toxicity, has become one of the most pressing health hazards of our day. Your body is assailed by chemicals and heavy metals on a daily basis, oftentimes from the most innocent-looking sources, from your everyday cookware to your child’s rubber ducky.

It has now gotten to the point where babies are being BORN toxic due to the toxic load of their mothers. A 2004 study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that blood samples from newborns contained an average of 287 toxins, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and Teflon chemicals.

Despite these dire warning signs, giant corporations and industry advocates like DuPont and The American Chemistry Council are fighting tooth and nail to block any and all proposed bans on toxic agents that happen to be part of their profit-making schemes. According to EnviroBlog, the latest army of lobbyists is trying to crush U.S. Senate Bill 1313, which calls for a ban of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in concentrations exceeding 0.1 percent from food packaging, for example.

And California State Senate Bill 1713, which would ban BPA from baby bottles and toys, is also under attack by hired guns who are trying to scare everyone into believing this bill will put an end to all canned and jarred goods.

If there ever was a time to get more involved in the political process – as these are serious survival issues — now might be a good time.

How Do You Know if You’re Suffering from Heavy Metal Toxicity?

Acute heavy metal toxicity is a lot easier to diagnose than that of chronic exposure. Indications of acute toxicity include:

• Sudden, severe cramping and/or convulsions
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Sweating
• Headache
• Difficulty breathing
• Impaired cognitive, motor and language skills

Symptoms of toxic build-up due to chronic heavy metal exposure, however, are much more subtle, in large part because these symptoms are so “common,” such as:

• Fatigue
• Digestive distress, and reduced ability to properly assimilate and utilize fats
• Aching joints
• Depression
• Impaired blood sugar regulation
• Female reproductive problems such as menstrual difficulties, infertility, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and premature birth

Sound like anyone you know?

Add to that your exposure to toxic fluoride in your municipal drinking water, which actually increases your body’s uptake of aluminum, in addition to all the other health damaging effects it has in and of itself, and it’s no wonder you’re feeling less than great.

Why is Your Diet so Important When it Comes to Heavy Metal Detox?

In addition to limiting your exposure to toxic metals, which I will go over shortly, you need to focus on eating a healthy diet, preferably based on your nutritional type to reap the maximum overall health benefits.

The Weston A. Price diet recommendations, which were written in 1920 and still, like all truths, hold true today, includes these timeless guidelines:

• Eat foods that are natural, unprocessed, and organic (and contain no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or maple syrup).
• Eat foods that grow in your native environment. In other words, eat locally grown, seasonal foods.
• Eat unpasteurized dairy products (such as raw milk) and fermented foods.
• Eat at least one-third of your food raw.
• Make sure you eat enough healthy fats, including those from animal sources like omega-3 fat, and reduce your intake of omega-6 from vegetable oils.

As Dr. Daniel et.al. explain in this article, optimal nutrition is essential when dealing with heavy metal toxicity because if you are deficient in essential metals, your body will use toxic heavy metals as “stand-ins” instead. For example:

• Calcium is replaced by lead, which deposits primarily in bone, and disrupts the formation of red blood cells. Lead contributes to poor bone health such as osteopenia and osteoporosis.
• Zinc is replaced by cadmium, which tends to accumulate heavily in your kidneys. Cadmium overload is associated with peripheral neuropathy.
• Magnesium is replaced by aluminum, which, among other things, induces neurochemical changes and has been identified as a contributing factor to developing Alzheimer’s.
• Manganese is replaced by nickel, which is carcinogenic.

Secondly, you also need vital nutrients to aid your natural detoxification process.

I also highly recommend subscribing to the Weston A. Price Foundation’s journal, Wise Traditions. This quarterly journal is dedicated to exploring the scientific validation of dietary, agricultural and medical traditions throughout the world. It features informative and thought-provoking articles on current scientific research; human diets; non-toxic agriculture; and holistic therapies. It also offers sources for organic foods that have been conscientiously grown and processed.

You can find their membership form at this link.

Guidelines for Reducing Your Heavy Metal Exposure

It may seem like a fight you’re destined to lose, however I firmly believe you can reduce you exposure to heavy metals quite dramatically, thereby giving your body a fighting chance to eliminate accumulated toxins and restore health.

These guidelines can help limit your exposure:

• Use glass, cast iron, carbon steel, titanium, and enamel cookware. Both aluminum and Teflon are well known for their toxic dangers, and stainless steel can expose you to carcinogenic nickel.
• Minimize consumption of restaurant food as restaurants are required to use stainless steel pots and vats.
• Avoid stainless steel thermoses; the glass lined kinds are best. Later this year I will be offering glass water bottles that can also be used in lieu of a thermos, with neoprene sleeves to protect them from breaking.
• Avoid cosmetics with aluminum bases, mineral powders that contain bismuth, and aluminum-laden antiperspirants, which have been shown to increase your Alzheimer’s risk by as much as 300 percent!
• Avoid vaccinations that inject mercury or aluminum directly into your bloodstream.
• Avoid and remove dental amalgam fillings.
• Avoid stainless steel orthodontics such as braces and palate wideners.
• Avoid costume jewelry if you are sensitive to metals.
• Avoid smoking and second hand smoke as it causes cadmium poisoning.
• Make sure you purchase your natural herbal remedies from a reputable source with strict quality testing. Some colloidal silvers can lead to silver poisoning, and some folk remedies can be high in mercury, lead and arsenic, either due to alleged medicinal properties or through unintentional contamination.
• Avoid conventional household cleaning products.
• Avoid conventional insecticides and herbicides. Also be VERY cautious when using the “natural alternative” Borax (boric acid), which can also cause serious health problems, including death.

Source: www.mercola.com

Greenbiz.com posted an article recently about a “robust” growth in green investing in 2007, caused by a rise in overall participation in green initiatives.

The 2008 World Wealth Report, released by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, looked at the drivers and inhibitors of wealth generation and how they influence individuals with at least $1 million in financial assets.

Among the findings, investors are supporting innovative research and development initiatives in the areas of alternative fuels and renewable energy in greater numbers. For example, total investment in the clean technology sector increased to $117 billion U.S. in 2007, up 41 per cent from 2005.

Green Investing

The report concludes that the unilateral pursuit of economic progress, with sustainable development as an underlying commitment, will be driven by more consciously aligning investment choices with values such as concern for the environment.

Visit Greenbiz.com for more on this story and to read the full report.

EcoLogo has a category certifying renewable electricity investment. To receive EcoLogo certification, renewable electricity investment funds must be unincorporated, open-ended trusts that invest exclusively in renewable electricity generation facilities and have a portfolio where, on an annual average basis, 60 percent of renewable energy generation facilities and 50 percent of the total name plate capacity are certified under the Ecologo criteria for “Renewable Low-impact Electricity.” Click here to review the full criteria.

Source: www.terrachoice.com

California has adopted the nation’s first statewide green-building standards in what is, according to ever-punny Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, “literally a groundbreaking move.” The new California Green Buildings Standards Code requires builders to reduce energy use by 15 percent beyond current standards, target a 50 percent reduction in water used for landscaping, and use more recycled materials. The code also identifies site improvements including bicycle storage and designated parking spots for low-emissions vehicles. The standards will become mandatory in 2010, assuming we’re not all living in flying space pods by then.

Source: www.grist.org

The aviation industry talked up greenness Wednesday at the world’s biggest air show in Farnborough, England. At a sustainability summit, Giovanni Bisignani of the International Air Transport Association called climate change an “emergency situation” and said airlines are the best suited to address it: “No other industry is as responsible, united, and ambitious.” Indeed, the industry is gung-ho about designing more fuel-efficient aircraft; the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787, both coming down the pike, are being touted as the most fuel-efficient airplanes yet. But Big Air remains unenthusiastic about a European Union plan to include airlines in its emissions-trading scheme, and officials continue to stress that the air industry really ain’t that bad. “We are under fire from many fronts, certainly from environmentalists, certainly from the uneducated general public that finds us an attractive target at which to shoot,” says Boeing CEO Scott Carson. “But the flying public still wants to fly.”

Source: www.grist.org