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Environmental Pollution

How Eating Meat Can Save the Planet

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Meat production is said to create a staggering 18 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.
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But in a new book being released in February 2011, Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie claims that eating moderate amounts of meat could be greener than going vegan.

Fairlie argues that every agricultural system produces hard-to-use biomass that is best fed to livestock, and that animals kept on small farms also fend off predators and pests and fertilize the soil.

However, Fairlie tells Time magazine that:

“… [O]f course, it is not what we eat individually — it is what we eat as a whole society that has the impact on the environment. Some vegans may continue their vegan ways. I’m arguing for meat in moderation, not to eradicate meat entirely, nor to overconsume it.”


Source:
Time Magazine October 12, 2010

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232 Toxic Chemicals found in 10 Babies

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Laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group have detected bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic component and synthetic estrogen, in umbilical cord blood of American infants.
Nine of 10 randomly selected samples of cord blood tested positive for BPA, an industrial petrochemical.

BPA has been implicated in a lengthening list of serious chronic disorders, including cancer, cognitive and behavioral impairments, endocrine system disruption, reproductive and cardiovascular system abnormalities, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

In all, the tests found as many as 232 chemicals in the 10 newborns, all of minority descent. The cord blood study has produced hard new evidence that American children are being exposed, beginning in the womb, to complex mixtures of dangerous substances that may have lifelong consequences.

And in a separate study, researchers found that complications of pregnancy, such as preterm labor, preterm birth, and infection were lowest in women with the highest vitamin D levels.

Blood levels of activated vitamin D usually rise during very early pregnancy, and some of it crosses the placenta to bathe the fetus, especially the developing fetal brain, in activated vitamin D. But many — in fact most — pregnant women do not make as much vitamin D as they need.

4,000 IU of vitamin D per day during pregnancy was found to be safe (not a single adverse event). However, this amount only resulted in a mean vitamin D blood level of 27 ng/ml in the newborn infants, indicating that even 4,000 IU per day during pregnancy is not enough.


Resources:

Mothering December 9, 2009
Environmental Working Group
New Research Findings Two December 3, 2009
National Institutes of Health

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Environmental Pollution

Reduce Your Trash & Save The Earth

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Are you worried that you’re hurting the environment by producing too much trash? Here are some methods you could use to cut it down:

1. No soda in cans
2. No water in plastic bottles
3. No coffee in disposable cups
4. No throwaway plastic razors and blade cartridges
5. Using non-disposable feminine-hygiene products that aren’t bad for women and are good for the planet
6. No Indian food in throwaway takeout tubs
7. No Italian food in plastic throwaway tubs
8. No Chinese food in plastic throwaway tubs
9. Taking your own reusable containers to takeout joints
10. Buying milk in returnable, reusable glass bottles
11. Shopping for honey and pickled veggies and other goods in jars only from merchants who will take back the jars and reuse them
12. Returning egg and berry cartons to the vendors at the farmers’ market for reuse
13. Using neither paper nor plastic bags and bringing your own reusable bags when grocery shopping
14. Canceling our magazine and newspaper subscriptions and reading online
15. Putting an end to the junk mail tree killing
16. Carrying a reusable cup and water bottle
17. Carrying reusable cloths for everything from blowing your nose to drying your hands
18. Politely asking restaurant servers to take away paper and plastic napkins, placemats, straws, cups and single-serving containers
19. Pretending McDonalds and Burger King and all their paper and plastic wrappers just don’t exist
20. Buying no candy bars, gum, lollypops or ice cream that is individually packaged
21. Making your own household cleaners to avoid all the throwaway plastic bottles
22. Using baking soda from a recyclable container to brush your teeth
23. Using baking soda for a deodorant to avoid the plastic containers that deodorant typically comes in
24. Using baking soda for shampoo to avoid plastic shampoo bottles
25. Keeping a worm bin to compost food scraps into nourishment that can be returned to the earth instead of toxins that seep from the landfills
26. Switching to cloth diapers
27. Not buying anything disposable
28. Not buying anything in packaging
29. Shopping for food only from the bulk bins and from the local farmer’s market where food is unpackaged and fresh
30. Forgetting about prepackaged, processed food of any description
31. Giving your second-hand clothes away to charities
32. Offering products you no longer need on Freecycle instead of throwing them away
33. Using old clothes for rags around the apartment instead of paper towels

Sources No Impact Man July 18, 2007

Related Links:

Get Rid of Your Trash and Save the Earth

Bag Wars — Paper vs Plastic: The Real Truth

Our Oceans are Turning Into Plastic

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Tulsi to The Envournmental Rescue

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….TULSI->.
Will This Wonderful Herb Save the Taj Mahal From Environmental Pollution?

Tulsi, commonly called “sacred” or “holy basil,” is a principle herb of Ayurveda, India‘s ancient holistic health system. In India, the Tulsi herb has been widely known for its health-promoting properties — for body, mind, and spirit — for over 5,000 years.

What is Tulsi?
In India the Tulsi herb is worshipped as a sacred plant. It is a part of Indian households, typically grown in earthen pots in the family home or garden. It is also an important part of India’s holistic health system and because of its potential health benefits, it has been for centuries.

Tulsi is rich in antioxidants and contains hundreds of beneficial compounds known as phytochemicals. These compounds possess potential adaptogenic properties, which means they may help your body adapt to and resist stress, as well as immune-enhancing properties that may help promote your general health.

It’s because of these numerous and wide-ranging benefits that I now recommend Tulsi tea as a delicious and healthy alternative to coffee. But there was something else that really drew me to one company in particular, Organic India.

This company, which manufactures Original Tulsi Tea Mix and Holy Basil Capsules, is committed to helping preserve and enrich the environment, and their latest endeavor with the Taj Mahal is evidence of that.

How Can Tulsi Help the Taj Mahal?
The Taj Mahal, the 17th century monument that is now revered as the finest example of Muslim art in India, is being constantly bombarded by air pollution. In fact, its white marble walls are now turning yellow, the result of airborne particles that are being deposited there.

Among the main culprits are automobiles and industry, which release high levels of sulfur dioxide emissions. When sulfur dioxide combines with oxygen and moisture, it contributes to a destructive fungus referred to as “marble cancer,” which corrodes the marble.

Now, a joint exercise being undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and Organic India will plant 1 million Tulsi saplings near the Taj Mahal in an effort to protect it from this environmental pollution.

Why Tulsi?
Organic India’s CEO Krishan Gupta explains:
“It is one of the best plants which purifies the environment. Its cleansing action is due to its property to release high amounts of oxygen, which minimizes the adverse impact of industrial and refinery emission.”

Organic India has committed to providing 1 million Tulsi saplings to plant near the Taj Mahal and in the surrounding city, this year.

Already, saplings have been distributed free of charge in the city by forest officials, and local people and schools were encouraged to participate in the plantation drive.

This is just the type of solution I like most: simple and natural, yet extremely effective and powerful.

Forest officials believe Tulsi will be able to absorb harmful gasses from the air and serve to insulate the area from environmental pollution. Plus, because Tulsi has such esteemed religious significance in India, they are confident that people in the area will care for the plants.

You may click to know more about Organic India

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:

Reuters.com May 15, 2007
Unesco.org July 2000
Decan Herald February 4, 2009

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Seaweed Can Take On Warming

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Slimy, green and unsightly, seaweed and algae are among the humblest plants on earth. A group of scientists at a climate conference in Bali say they could also be a potent weapon against global warming, capable of sucking damaging carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere at rates comparable to the mightiest rain forests.

“The ocean’s role is neglected because we can’t see the vegetation,” said Chung Ik-kyo, a South Korean environmental scientist. “But under the sea, there is a lot of seaweed and sea grass that can take up carbon dioxide.”

The seaweed research, backed by scientists in 12 countries, is part of a broad effort to calculate how much carbon is being absorbed from the atmosphere by plants, and figure out ways to increase that through reforestation and other steps. Such so-called “carbon sinks” are considered essential to controlling greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere and are blamed for global warming.

The conference in Bali is aimed at launching two-year negotiations for a new global warming pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, and using the earth’s natural resources to remove carbon from the air is a major topic of discussion.

While the lion’s share of attention to carbon sinks has been on forests, the seaweed scientists say the world should look to the sea, where nearly 8 million tons of seaweed and algae are cultivated every year.

Sources: The Times Of India

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