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Facebook: High Connection and Low Well-Being
By The Editors Facebook may be big in helping people connect, but may not be that big in making people happy. Indeed, results from a study published in the scientific journal PLOSone indicate that Facebook use predicts decreases in a user’s well being. The study, entitled “Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults” (August 14, 2013), has…
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Quinoa: A Future Sown Thousands of Years Ago
By The Editors The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared the year 2013 “The International Year of the Quinoa” to serve as a catalyst for increased production and consumption of quinoa. The Andean indigenous peoples have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved quinoa as food for present and future generations through ancestral practices of living…
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Large Animal Extinctions and Soil Fertility
By The Editors During the final millennia of the Pleistocene Epoch, roughly 100 genera of megafauna became extinct worldwide. In other words, between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, the large majority of animals weighing more than 100 pounds died out Examples of these extinct animals are mammoths, the saber-toothed tigers, Diprotodon (an Australian marsupial the size of a hippopotamus) and…
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Doing Your Bit: Ten Simple Ways to Help Reduce Air Pollution
By The Editors Every day, we can choose to do things that help to reduce air pollution. And if we are aware of what we do, we can do even more. Below are a few ideas to make a difference – Ten simple ways to help reduce air pollution. 1. Conserve energy – turn off appliances, computers and lights…
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Do Sea Turtles Eat Plastic Marine Debris? Yes!
By The Editors Floating marine debris accumulates in five main oceanic gyres. These debris accumulations consist mostly of plastics and are called great garbage patches. In recognition of the global threat posed by the great garbage patches, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently granted them a symbolic State status, and officially recognized the Garbage Patch State.…
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What is Carbon Farming?
By Roberta Attanasio Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and ozone) work like the glass walls of a greenhouse and are responsible for the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect? It’s a process in which greenhouse gases let the radiation from the sun onto the Earth’s surface. At the same time, they trap the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere.…
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The $11 Trillion Reward
By The Editors According to a brand new report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables could save more than 100,000 lives and $17 billion in health care costs from heart disease each year. In addition, better farm policies, designed to encourage production of healthy food instead of processed junk foods, will help us…
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Benzene, Leukemia and Lymphoma
By Roberta Attanasio It’s said to have a sweet smell, or a gasoline-like odor. It’s mostly in the air, and sometime in the water and soil. It’s found all around the world. It’s in cigarette smoke and gasoline vapors. It’s a known human carcinogen – a substance known to cause cancer. It’s benzene. Its target organ is the bone marrow,…
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It’s World Breastfeeding Week!
By The Editors World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. According to the Innocenti Declaration, breastfeeding is a unique process…
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Arsenic in Rice: Links to Genetic Damage
By The Editors Rice is a staple food for over 3 billion people worldwide. Unfortunately, rice contaminated with arsenic can be found in several regions of our planet. Although serious concerns have been raised in the past few years over the consumption of rice tainted with high levels of arsenic, there was no direct proof of its harmful effects on…
