news

You are currently browsing articles tagged news.

Keeping us in the Dark About Fuel Efficient Cars?

06/15/2012 in News, Things that Suck, Thoughts, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

About thirty minutes ago I wasn’t sure what to blog about today. Then about 10 minutes ago I knew precisely what to blog today! I love the way the Universe gives us just what we need when we need it.

Here’s what happened, I watched this video because I have been extremely concerned as to ‘why’ USA car manufacturers have not made available to us cars that get over 60mpg, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get at least that kind of gas mileage.

So, the reason is because the US has a gas tax and those funds go to maintain our highways. When a car gets better than 20-30mpg that means the funds necessary for maintaining our highways is greatly compromised. OK, so we’ve gotten ourselves into a pickle here!

There is another issue which Brian, the guy in the video, didn’t bring up… let’s assume that we all had cars that got 100mpg and/or we had electric cars. That would mean that the oil industry would be selling a lot less oil, gas and diesel to us, do you see where I’m going with this? Well, that would mean that the entire oil industry would suddenly have very few customers. Which would mean fewer jobs, no reason to fight expensive wars in the Middle East, oil tankers and the production of them, storage facilities, and so forth would become history.

While getting superior gas mileage or having cars that don’t require gas absolutely would be a fantastic thing for the environment and our ability to create more peaceful relationships with foreign countries… it would also mean that we would have to come up with a ton of jobs for all of those who are tied to the industry. Possible solutions to that might be new jobs and industry’s that reach further still to create superior ‘Green’ technologies in other areas of our lives.

Doing that would be a monumental task to say the least but based on the way things are going anyway… one way or another, we are going to have to make drastic changes in these areas within the next five years anyway (otherwise we’re screwed essentially)… so why not get in gear, inform the masses, and start doing it now – rather than this pathetic nonsense we have been doing!?

As for the lack of funds for maintaining our roads, because they won’t be able to get enough on gas sales, all they have to do is figure out (not hard to do) how much is required to maintain the roads and then divide that number by the number of car owners and we all pay a portion -or- let them base it on the number of miles a car owner drives a year (which might be more fair) and that will act as the equivalent to the current funds raised from taxes on gasoline sales.

But wait, I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet…

I wanted to Tweet about this video (above) and provide a link to the UK Voltswagen website on my Twitter page that sells the VW Passat but Twitter will not let me, it says the link to that site contains “spam.”

Oh, really????

I was just at the site and there is no spam there whatsoever, none!

I even went back to the UK VW site to double-check, and there’s no spam content there at all.

The only thing that could be considered “unsafe” is the fact that we might learn something!

Are we being kept in the dark about something that someone doesn’t want to go viral?

The site is nothing more than a site that sells cars to the folks living in the UK.

I just wish this dishonesty nonsense would come to an end. We are fully capable of reason and logic when we know the facts -and- we ARE fully capable of allowing ways of obtaining funds to maintain our highways to happen.

Surely whoever is behind this nonsense can’t be thinking that we’re not mature enough to know that each of us has to chip in to keep our roads maintained.

Twitter however, DID allow me to Tweet the site from the Tweet button on the website itself. Which I did just moments ago.

Here’s a screenshot of the Twitter window that will not let me post a link to that VW – UK website.

Screenshot of VW Twitter link

Twitter only has an issue with the “Voltswagen Passat Bluemotion” and SnipUrl portion of what I was trying to post, nothing else.

I cannot think of any reason whatsoever as to why a link to that site would throw up a warning flag on Twitter… well, other than possibly because someone(s) out there doesn’t want us to know what ‘could’ be available to us.

I cannot think of any other logical explanation as to why Twitter won’t allow me to post a link to that site on my Twitter page. So, I posted it on my Facebook page and I’m putting my entire experience here on my blog because I believe we all deserve to know the reason ‘why’ we continue to have US vehicles with crappy gas mileage while other countries get twice as good.

Twitter ‘will’ allow me to post this link http://www.naturalnews.com/036183_fuel-efficiency_automobiles_government.html (which I did) to my Twitter page that I found at the NaturalNews website, which does have a link to the UK website in the article (the exact same link I posted above).

 

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , ,

Can Pregnant Women and Nursing Mom’s Eat Fish? Yes!

02/25/2012 in Cooking, Food, Health, News, Reviews, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

Vital Choice: Healthy Moms & Baby PackFew subjects elicit more emotion than the safety of food eaten by pregnant or nursing women and its impacts—good or bad—on their children. And that’s how it should be, given the vulnerability of fetuses and infants, and the importance of optimal brain development to childhood and lifelong capacities and outcomes. But some of what we’ve heard over the years is not withstanding the test of time.

Take the case of pregnant and nursing women who are advised not to eat fish, all of the studies published on this subject find that children’s brains benefit when their mothers do eat more fish during pregnancy and nursing, and that children are not harmed by the minuscule amounts of mercury in most ocean fish. This post dispels the myths and provides suggestions to keep both mother and baby healthy.

This is how Harvard public health researchers put it in a recent medical literature review (Mozaffarian D, Rimm EB et al. 2006):

“For major health outcomes among adults, based on the strength of the evidence and the potential magnitudes of effect, the benefits of fish intake exceed the potential risks.”

“For women of childbearing age, benefits of modest fish intake, excepting a few selected species, also outweigh risks.”

The few exceptions to which they refer to are: shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish, which should be avoided by children and pregnant and nursing mothers.

Both Christiane Northrup, MD and Andrew Weil, M.D., stand out as a voices of reason within a misguided, drug-focused medical paradigm that downplays wellness and prevention. Dr. Weil wrote on this in the Huffington Post, titled “Pregnant? Eat Fish!”

Dr. Weil writes,

“Research now suggests that the benefit to a baby’s neurological health from omega-3s appears to far outweigh the potential for harm from small amounts of mercury in fish tissues.”

He goes on to cite the research backing this statement… findings we’ve reported, along with research explaining why the abundance of selenium in ocean fish renders the presence of traces of mercury virtually irrelevant to human health.  Continue reading “Can Pregnant Women and Nursing Mom’s Eat Fish? Yes!” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , , , ,

National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Scotts: Disappointing and Disturbing News

01/29/2012 in Animals & Pets, Around the Home, Birds, Butterflies, Gardening, Health, Intelligent Designing, Landscaping, Living in Beauty, Making A Living, News, Plants, Things that Suck, Thoughts, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

This past week I became aware of some shocking news: both the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Scotts Miracle-Gro was proud to announce they were partnering. In their press release on January 18, 2012 stating,

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and ScottsMiracle-Gro are announcing a new partnership to advance NWF’s nationwide Be Out There initiative to connect children with nature. As the national presenting sponsor, ScottsMiracle-Gro will enhance NWF’s programs to create green spaces and attract wildlife to backyards and communities across the country.

“During our support of the NWF’s wildlife relief work in the Gulf of Mexico, we realized how many similarities our organizations shared – and started exploring ways to work together,” said Jim Lyski, executive vice president, ScottsMiracle-Gro. “NWF offers a unique perspective that we believe can help shape our sustainability initiatives, and proactively engage thought leaders on constructively developing solutions to environmental and societal challenges. This partnership for us is about building a business that leaves our world better off than we found it.”

Is That Stretching Our Abilities to Believe Them  Continue reading “National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Scotts: Disappointing and Disturbing News” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Totally Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB)

01/14/2012 in Health, News, Things that Suck by Curt Siters | No comments

Tuberculosis BacteriumTotally Drug Resistant Tuberculosis was first encountered in two cases in Italy in 2003. Fifteen cases were observed in 2009 in Iran. Twelve cases have been discovered in India in 2011.

Totally Drug Resistant, known as TDR, is when a disease is resistant to all prescribed medications. In this case it, TDR-TB, is resistant to all three front line medications and all nine second line drugs.

Drug resistant disease is not a new phenomenon and was first indicated in the Luria–Delbrück experiment of 1943. Drug resistance has been building since drugs have been used to treat disease.

In recent years we have seen MRSA, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, has emerged. Methicillin was the last hope of “conventional” western pharmacology.

Some of the foremost medications for Tuberculosis include:

  • Isoniazid – this is the current first line drug of choice for controlling tuberculosis. It is used on its own for the control of latent tuberculosis and in combination with other drugs for active TB.
  • Rifampicin - is a much more complicated molecule, used in conjunction with isoniazid for active TB.
  • Pyrazinamide - is also used for the control of active TB.
  • Ethambutol - specifically inhibits the synthesis of arabinan in cell walls.
  • Streptomycin - was the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, but is not used for that purpose nowadays.

Diseases such as TB, bird flu, swine flu and Staph Aureus have been with us for a very long time with very long times between mutations that inhibit our ability to deal with them. It seems however, with the advent of the new “Patent” medicines the mutations seem to be coming much faster.

The TB bacteria, it has been learned, can communicate drug resistance to other TB bacteria without waiting to multiply know as horizontal gene transfer.

The authorities do not feel this is a problem. I see it as one. For thousands of years we had more or less been able to deal with disease with what we had available from nature. Sometimes there would a very virulent mutation that we were not prepared for and cause massive death an epidemic or a pandemic.

This kind of discovery, TDR-TB, confirms what I have believed for a long time – Nature loves and seeks balance. I don’t mean it has to be 50-50. When there is an imbalance nature will find a way to restore it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luria%E2%80%93Delbr%C3%BCck_experiment

# # #

Curt SitersCurt Siters

Webmaster

Shoals Creek Village - a new build intentional community.

My Eco Oasis - the hub for what will be a network of many ecovillages.

Big fan of living simply

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  ~Albert Einstein

Man's heart away from nature becomes hard.  ~Standing Bear

Tags: , ,

Organic Certification: is it all it’s cracked up to be?

01/05/2012 in Food, Health, Making A Living, Plants, Reflections & Discoveries, Things that Suck, What Matters Most by Evelyn | 2 comments

I had been a devoted “certified organic” shopper for 25 years, when something struck me while shopping in a well known supermarket in 2003. While selecting broccoli in the produce section I couldn’t help but notice that the appearance of both the conventionally grown and the “certified organic” broccoli looked exactly the same! I picked up a bunch of each; felt them, smelled them, both seemed exactly the same… so, I bought both to perform a little experiment.Young Living Balsam Fir Farm, Idaho

I continued my shopping and as I walked each isle I began wondering… how was it that just a mere few years ago that none of my local stores sold anything organic and all of a sudden organic fresh produce, canned/jarred, and boxed organic foods lined shelves. “Hmmmm, I smell something fishy!” I said to myself.

As I walked down each isle I began losing my appetite thinking of what the USDA might have changed when they took over organic standards and regulations… I continued entertaining what might be going on and speculated; in the past few years there had NOT been a rush of people to purchase land and establish organic farms. Quite the contrary many farmers were selling their prized land to developers! Now, I was smelling a BIG skunk! I looked around at other shopper’s and wondered if they too had put 2+2 together yet???  Continue reading “Organic Certification: is it all it’s cracked up to be?” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , , , ,

Great News: Predator-Proof Fencing Helps Ground Nesting Birds in Hawaii

01/02/2012 in Birds, Landscaping, News, Reflections & Discoveries, Things that Suck, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

Formed entirely by volcanic action about 4,000 km (2,400 miles) from the nearest continental land mass, Hawai`i is the most isolated group of islands in the Pacific. Except for the Hawaiian bat, no terrestrial mammal naturally colonized the islands. Isolated from the enemies of their ancestors, Hawai`i’s native plants and animals gradually lost their natural defenses against mammalian predators.

With human settlement in Hawai`i many predator mammal species were introduced; mice and rats (carried on early sailing ships), cats (soon after Captain Cook), and the mongoose (intentionally introduced in 1883 to control rats).

Predation by rats, cats, and mongooses is considered a leading cause in the decline and extirpation of endemic Hawaiian birds. Habitat destruction and avian diseases are other important causes. Many extinct Hawaiian birds, known only from fossil remains, nested on the ground and were susceptible to predation.

Only two methods for controlling small mammals are available to land managers – trapping and 0.005% diphacinone bait placed in bait stations. Both methods, effective in small areas, are labor- and time-intensive and are impractical for large conservation areas. Scientists from Federal, State, and private organizations in Hawai`i are currently studying the ecology and biology of small mammal predators, and evaluating new control techniques, to develop management tools to lessen the impacts of these predators on native wildlife and plants.

One new tactic to protect ground nesting birds has been ‘predator-proof fencing’. Success of the first predator proof fence in the United States is producing dramatic results that may eventually lead to a resurgence in decimated seabird populations in Hawaii. The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, which nests in the remote coastal dunes on the now-fenced Kaʻena Point at the northwestern tip of O’ahu, has produced the highest number of chicks since the annual survey began in 1994.

“This is extraordinary news. It has been only eight months since the predator-proof fence was installed and already, we are seeing results. This year’s chick count of 1775 is a 14% percent increase over the previous high count in 2007 and the highest number ever recorded at the point. So far, the fence has done a great job of preventing bird predation by rats, cats, mongoose, dogs, and even mice,” said Dr. George Wallace, Vice President for Oceans and Islands at American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the leading bird conservation group in the United States.  Continue reading “Great News: Predator-Proof Fencing Helps Ground Nesting Birds in Hawaii” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , ,

Plastic Cutting Boards are NOT Safer than Wood Cutting Boards

11/17/2011 in Cooking, Food, Health, News, Things that Suck by Evelyn | No comments

Wood Cutting BoardI find that nothing is more beautiful than a well crafted wood cutting board in the kitchen. The smoothness and warm hues of natural grain wood are unbeatable. And with proper care a wood cutting board will last generations!

So why are we ditching our wood cutting boards for plastic?

A few years ago, Curt worked at Williams-Sonoma, a high end gourmet cooking store, when we lived in Seattle, WA. One of the terrific things that took place there was every so often Williams-Sonoma had vendors come in to do various training and demonstrations for the staff and customers… there’s nothing better than well informed sales staff and consumers I say!

One day, Curt came home and asked me, “have you ever seen any studies that show plastic cutting boards were safer regarding food bacteria?”

I thought about it for a minute and said, “well, actually I don’t believe I have. If I had to guess I think wood is better because people have used wood for centuries and it’s never been a problem in the past and I think wood has [essential oils] oils in it that kill the bacteria.”

Well, it turns out that there aren’t any studies proving that plastic is better than wood!

As a matter of fact, wood is superior to plastic in keeping those nasty germs at bay!

I don’t know about you but I far prefer wood cutting boards over plastic – they hold up better, they don’t slide around on the countertop while being used, the chopped up food and juices stays on wood better (lessening the chances of a puddle on the floor), they wash up nice (do not put them in a dishwasher though!), and they’re far prettier.

This is a copy of the report Curt brought home on plastic and wood cutting boards…

Science Report Continue reading “Plastic Cutting Boards are NOT Safer than Wood Cutting Boards” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , , , ,

Electricity for Our Homes: Wind Power or Mountaintop Removal

11/09/2011 in Health, News, Our Mountains, Reflections & Discoveries, Things that Suck, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

The Last Mountain: Mountaintop RemovalIn a world of rising energy prices, rising global temperatures, and rising sea levels, Americans are looking for clean and affordable energy. Yet under the influence of big energy companies, policy-makers are stubbornly clinging to the old, dirty fossil fuel technologies of the past. Along with global warming, mountaintop removal is an egregious example of the destructive impact of our addiction to coal.

For years I’ve been saying, “I would RATHER have our mountains than this extremely environmentally damaging coal industry, I will do everything within my power to get  off of the grid and make much wiser choices!”

View the Google Earth Tutorial to see what’s going on, the Appalachian Mountains are in our backyards… this IS the high cost of coal!

The Last Mountain: A Sundance Official Selection, The Last Mountain is described as, “…a passionate and personal tale that honors the extraordinary power of ordinary Americans when they fight for what they believe in. The Last Mountain shines a light on America’s energy needs and how those needs are being supplied. It is a fight for our future that affects us all.” Find theatre showings.

Wendell Berry has this to say about the clean coal industry…

Not a Vision of Our Future, But of Ourselves

The only limits so far honored by this industry have been technological. What its machines have enabled it to do, it has done. And now, for the sake of the coal under them, it is destroying whole mountains with their forests, water courses and human homeplaces. The resulting rubble of soils and blasted rocks is then shoved indiscriminately into the valleys. This is a history by any measure deplorable, and a commentary sufficiently devastating upon the intelligence of our politics and our system of education. That Kentuckians and their politicians have shut their eyes to this history as it was being made is an indelible disgrace. That they now permit this history to be justified by its increase of the acreage of “flat land” in the mountains signifies an indifference virtually suicidal. Continue reading…

Study Shows West Virginia Mountain Could be Permanent Power Source for 150,000 Homes Continue reading “Electricity for Our Homes: Wind Power or Mountaintop Removal” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , , , ,

Gross National Happiness

11/05/2011 in Fun Stuff, How To, News, Reflections & Discoveries, Thoughts, What Matters Most by Evelyn | No comments

Rare photo of BhutanUntil a few years ago I didn’t even know a country named Bhutan existed, only 110 miles from the north to south and 200 from east to west, Bhutan – called by its people Druk Yul, “the Land of the Thunder Dragon” – is home to a remarkable variety of climates and ecosystems. When I heard a long-time friend talk about a guy he had met from Bhutan and how cool and sane it was I Googled the name and began reading… WOW! It sounds like an absolutely amazing place!!! A place where we, in the US, can learn lessons and continue on the path of ‘positive’ change.

Many Americans are probably unaware of another historic election of 2008. Bhutan, once an absolute monarchy, became one of the world’s newest democracies in March. While this may not seem significant at first glance I think it deserves a closer look…

One thing I find outstanding about the Kingdom of Bhutan is that it’s a place where the Gross National Happiness is deemed more important than the Gross National Product.

Instead of focusing on gross domestic product (GDP), Bhutan measures gross national happiness (GNH).

When I read this, I stopped in my tracks… to be in the moment of what exactly gross national happiness was and what it might feel like. The more I thought about it, the more it touched my heart and soul, and what it might feel like to be a citizen of a country who felt their leaders actually cared about the average people. To know that my voice would be heard and the decisions made higher up in government would be a reflection of not only the average persons preference, but of something more tangible that reaches far beyond the superficial and beyond what benefits corporations. Continue reading “Gross National Happiness” »

Evelyn Vincent Evelyn Vincent

Native Plant Landscaper, Gardener, Labyrinth Design, Feng Shui Practitioner,  Aromatherapy / Essential Oils, Big Fan of Nature and Living Simply.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
~ R. Buckminster Fuller

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tags: , , ,

How Many Electoral Votes Does It Take To Become President? 2

11/01/2011 in News, Reflections & Discoveries, Thoughts by Curt Siters | No comments

As I was watching the 2008 election results I decided to do some research into which presidential candidate won which of the eleven “key states” (read my previous article) and went on to become, or remain, president. Due to all the traffic on the internet, especially some of the more politically oriented sites, it was slow going and I managed to get as far back as President Eisenhower.

I have done a spreadsheet showing the presidents, which of the eleven states they won along with the % of the popular vote along with a simple calculation to see if I could see a relation between popular vote, electoral vote and the number of key states. (my spreadsheet covers back until just before Hawaii became a state – this is an excel spreadsheet, if you don’t have excel you can download OpenOffice for free). To my surprise this calculation made it easy to see squeekers, minor and full landslides!

I stopped at Eisenhower because it starts to get a little more complicated with states disappearing along with changes in the number of electoral votes as you go back in time. If anyone wants to take it further to see if my theory holds up – go for it! Please let me know the results. Just make sure you adjust the key states with the changes in the electoral votes.

I obtained the voting stats from Dave Leip’s “Atlas of U.S. Presidential ElectionsKey-State-Theory.”

My “Key State” theory is as follows: in order to become President all you have to do is win half , or six, of the eleven states that comprise 270 of the electoral votes and the rest of the electoral votes will come from other states.

My “Key State” theory has held up with two presidential election exceptions. Those two exceptions were President George Bushes two terms (he won the same 5 key states both times). But as far as most people are concerned he is an anomaly anyway you look at it.

His two elections are looked upon with great suspicion and were narrow margins in both the electoral vote and the popular vote – not a mandate as the Republicans would leave you to believe.

  • President Obama had a minor landslide.
  • President Bush 2 had narrow margins.
  • President Clinton had narrow margins.
  • President Bush also won with a minor landslide.
  • President Reagan won both elections with a landslide.
  • President Carter had narrow margins.
  • President Nixon had a narrow margin and a landslide.
  • President Johnson a minor landslide.
  • President Kennedy had a narrow margin.
  • President Eisenhower had a minor landslide.

However, they all won at least 8 of the “key states” with the exception of President Bush who only won 5 in each of the two elections.

More on Voting

# # #

Curt SitersCurt Siters

Webmaster

Shoals Creek Village - a new build intentional community.

My Eco Oasis - the hub for what will be a network of many ecovillages.

Big fan of living simply

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  ~Albert Einstein

Man's heart away from nature becomes hard.  ~Standing Bear

Tags: , ,

« Older entries