Flu season is almost upon us

Seth Berkley explains how smart advances in vaccine design, production and distribution are bringing us closer than ever to eliminating a host of global threats — from AIDS to malaria to flu pandemics.

She is Worth Dying for

She is Alive 

           She is Home 

                     She is Complex 

                                  She is Beautiful 

                                             She is Finite  

She is Hurting....

 

With Health, Wealth, & Wisdom
Your's truly


Content credit: The principal source for the footage was Yann Arthus-Bertrand's incredible film HOME http://www.homethemovie.org/. The music was by Armand Amar. Thank you too Greenpeace and http://timescapes.org/

Self-driving Cars can Equal Freedom

You may or may not have heard about Google's self-driving cars. They're cute, a little anthropomorphic but that's on purpose. Of course there has been some outcries as to the dangers of self-driving cars and I understand the concerns.

 Yet! There is a benefit to promoting these for public use that most people do not consider.

 Beyond safer roads free from distracted drivers, Google's self-driving cars have the ability to offer mobility to those in desperate need to such a degree that it could be considered life-altering! How you ask? Consider your parent(s) - let's say they're healthy vibrant individuals living and working, enjoying life till suddenly one or both are struck down with an illness, a disability, or life-altering stroke. Your parent(s) are suddenly immobile because they are unable to drive due to the previously mentioned health related issue and local, public, or alternative modes of transportation are time consuming. Medically speaking it is this life-altering interruption that can and statistically often does send mentally healthy people spiraling into a life-threatening depression. When life get's interrupted so does everything that happens in life - visiting friends, grocery/clothes shopping, entertainment, doctor's visits (etc). This is where Google's self-driving car can make a world of difference and not just to the elderly but to all people with disabilities or inabilities to access normal mobility.  But don't take my word on it....

Koyaanisqatsi | Life Out of Balance

We are living Koyaanisqatsi, which is Hopi for "life out of balance." 

At one time or another, we've all probably looked at the cost of solar paneling our home, or weighing the comparison of possible savings of a gas car versus electric- though the environmental cost is still debatable. Not to mention the giddy childish smiles like that of Don Quixote chasing windmills whenever we drive past a wind farm. Or, if you've been brave enough even contemplated living "off the grid!"

Saving the Earth, our only true home is a big job and we're just not serious enough about it.  We've all watched (even if you don't want to admit it) children's movies with the sometimes not so subtle environmental theme (Wall-E and Ferngully) and have at least heard about Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.  And of course there are movies that play on our deeper emotional connection combining government, environmentalism, and humanities ultimate destruction: The China Syndrome, Chinatown, and Soylent Green (it's people!).  Than there's the odd fantastical environmental movies like The Day After Tomorrow, Avatar, Tomorrow Land, and San Andreas (okay not so much that one- but it is a good ol' fashioned end of the world keep on the edge of your seat kind of movie).

Every day we see evidence that we cannot continue at the pace we are currently at.  To avoid landfills my home town burns trash.  Recycling centers are losing money due to their promise of making it easier for everyone to recycle.  By allowing everyone to throw all recyclables together they are running into massive material separation issues costing them more money than they can profit on (http://wpo.st/sMeT0).  

Daily we hemorrhage good edible food just because it looks funny or doesn't meet our "standard" for edible food. (http://on.ted.com/Tristram).  Food that was trucked miles from where it was grown or slaughtered using up millions of gallons of oil in the process just so it could be thrown away.

We build with unsustainable or pollutant causing materials instead of utilizing alternative forms of construction.  Who says you have to live in a home with four square corners?  Why not use eco-friendly building materials that ultimate reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere if you're planning on building new?  Replace materials in your next building project from materials that emit high levels of CO2 with those that emit low to no levels of CO2, this includes paints and carpets (http://www.eesi.org/files/climate.pdf).

What can we do?

1. Invest in sustainable and alternative forms of energy
2. Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose everything that you can (do you really need a new couch?)
3. Buy local food and food that cannot be used in someway (stews are great for ugly food) or eaten compost in your own yard
4. Research alternative building materials that work well in your local environment (i.e. cod/adobe/hay bale homes just might not work where temperatures drop to -50 degrees in the winter, but are great in warmer dryer climates)
5. Take part in local environmental groups to learn what you can do to help even if it's just planting a rain garden or adding a water collection barrel at the end of your rain spout.
6. Most of all WAKE UP! Every little action toward environmental protection is one step forward in the global fight!

We are connected physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually with the health of our planet.  So why do we treat it with such disdain? How we treat the earth is a reflection on how we treat ourselves and clearly we are out of balance.  So do something Now! Today! Walk to the store which is only 8 blocks away.  The exercise will do you good, you'll buy less because you have to carry it home, and maybe, just maybe, you'll have a better appreciation for the food you bought.  Turn off the computer! Go outside! Interact, reconnect, find your purpose once again in nature.

With Health, Wealth, and Happiness!

Your's truly!

Reduce poverty to improve health

Globally there is a crisis between health, poverty, and habitat. Paul Pholeros speaks on such points in his TedTalk in 2013. There is a disconnect between first world and third world countries and the access to simple every day necessities. Necessities that can mean the difference between life and death especially in children.