• Cheap, fast, processed food has brought us increases in diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and learning disabilities
• Cheap, energy - in the form of coal –  has brought us increased heart disease, cancer, asthma, learning diabilities, and neurological disorders in children.

While the consequences of our collective lousy diet are sometimes easy to see - our shirt no longer buttons or we can’t zip our favorite jeans - consequences of our addiction to cheap energy, in the form of coal, don’t  show up until months, even years later.  Sadly, the price is being paid mostly by our children, and diets don’t fix that damage.

A 2010 report by the National Research Council estimated that pollution from one Chicago area plant alone cost over $187 million a year in hidden health costs. Lung damaging soot, mercury, lead and other pollutants literally pour out of hundreds of plants across the country daily. Many of these plants were scheduled to close over a decade ago.  But our demand for low rates over increased efficiency standards have kept these filth-spewing giants operating in spite of increased pollution regulations. (Plants opened prior to new standards were exempted from the rules.)

Human nature being what it is, we tend to look for something or someone to blame when problems are hard to resolve.  To be sure, EPA regulations aimed at reducing deadly pollutants from entering our air and water have expedited the closing of old, inefficient coal power plants. But market forces, NOT pollution standards, are the biggest driver of the switch to cleaner burning, cheaper natural gas. 

The (TVA) agency’s shift away from coal has been part of a national trend driven largely by the abundance of cheap natural gas…

Jobs are being lost as coal plants are being shuttered.  Livelihoods, in fact entire neighborhoods and communities, are dying as we switch to cleaner fuels and more renewable sources of energy. I get that.  And I get the ‘sophie’s choice’ of choosing to protect a family’s livelihood over protecting an unborn child or the air and water our children breathe and drink.

I understand that it’s hard, and complicated, and the price is being paid mostly by people we don’t see or in ways not immediately obvious.  Doing what’s right for now is almost always easier then doing what’s right for the long term.  But if we continue along the current picture of cheap energy over clean(er) energy, the price will continue to rise, and will be paid by our children, grandchildren and beyond.

Sound like some other problems facing our country???

Photo by Ilovemountains.com on Flickr.

Honoring the 50th anniversary of her ground-breaking, society-changing book Silent Spring, this annual contest gives us a chance to live the words of Ms. Carson:

“If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder…he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, the excitement and the mystery of the world we live in.” Rachel Carson

In 1962, Silent Spring generated a firestorm of controvery over the widespread use of chemical pesticides, particularly DDT.  (Do you believe it was embedded in children’s room wallpaper?) Many of us can recall the evening fogging of our neighborhoods by the DDT trucks, even chasing the fog as it passed by our houses! Sure the mosquitos were killed, but so were the ladybugs, the earthworms, the birds that ate them…and countless other species in the food chain.

Developed in 1939 to help fight World War II, DDT was introduced for civilian use 6 years later and lauded as a way to significantly increase crop yield to feed a surging population. At the time, only a few scientists expressed concern about the indiscrimate nature of the insects killed by DDT, incuding Rachel Carson. It wasn’t until 1958 however, when a friend alerted her to the mysterious large scale bird  kills that Ms. Carson began tackling the issue of DDT. Among the especially troubling finds was the fact that it stayed in the fatty tissue of animal for YEARS. In fact, DDT is regularly found in the umbilicial cord blood as the ‘body burden’ of infants born in this country today. Four years later, and several rejections of articles on the subject, the seminal book was published, changing the way Americans looked at the chemical industry.

Environmentalists, even scientists in general, continue to face  relentless attacks in their efforts to ensure chemicals are tested and deemed safe BEFORE being released into our air and water. But for today, let’s pause to celebrate the milestone that is the 50th anniversary of one of the most important milestones in human health.

Thank you Rachel.

photo by wolleydog on Flickr

Who would have thought some of our best friends would be the 100 Trillion bacteria living in, and on, our bodies?

Results of the Human Microbiome Project have caused us to re-examine the critical balance between these good bacteria, essential for human life, and the relatively few bad guys on which we’ve waged an all-out blitz!  Modern life has been altering that delicate balance in ways that have led to an increase in obesity, inflammatory disease and other chronic illnesses. In fact, it’s made us sicker.

Antibacterial products became ubiquitous in the past decade. We’ve turned into ‘germophobes’ carrying around tiny containers of sanitizers,  demanding antibiotics for every little cough or ache and ‘sanitizing’ every surface in our homes and schools.  Our meat sources are routinely raised using antibiotics to promote rapid growth. The results of this desire to purge the bad guys has resulted in altering the good guys — about two pounds if gathered together — that live and work with our bodies other systems to perform vital functions.   We’ve killed off the bacteria that are in fact essential to human life.

I’ll spare you most of the ‘yuck’ factor here, although you can read for yourself how doctors are treating tough antibiotic-resistant infections in new ways by restoring the delicate balance of our bodies natural ecosystem.

In exchange for raw materials and shelter, the microbes that live in and on people feed and protect their hosts, and are thus integral to that host’s well-being. Neither wishes the other harm. (The Economist 8/18/12)

This balance becomes more crucial as we age and our bodies defenses begin to break down. What we eat becomes even more important in helping maintain a healthy ‘gut microbiome’, helping us fight against several chronic conditions, including obesity and inflammatory disease.

So what can we do to keep our microbiome healthy:

• resist asking for or taking antibiotics for conditions they cannot cure, or just to ‘be on the safe side’,
• avoid using soaps,  sanitizers and other products containing triclosan;  washing properly with soap and water is MORE effective
• look for organic or natural products grown or processed without antibiotics, including dairy, meat and eggs
• take a walk in nature — the fresh air and natural flora and fauna in nature can help boost our internal ecosystems.

We are so fortunate to live in this time of unprecedented scientific discovery and understanding of the human body. The more we understand and take care of our internal ecosystems, the longer we’ll have to enjoy our Earth’s.

photo by SNarvasa on Flickr

Think of an area the size of two Delawares – 3,300,000 acres – about 5,000 square miles.  That’s the area blighted by the pine-beetle since the 1990′s, allowing Colorado’s mountains to explode in wildfires and devastate this national treasure. Why has this happened? Because of climate change. There, I said it.

A few years ago when I was driving with my daughter back from DC to her college in California, we stopped for gas about an hour out of Denver. I could hardly get myself back in the car - in fact I made her sit on the curb of the Burger King parking lot with me so I could stare up at the magnificent scenery.  When I was growing up in Southern California, all I needed to do to see mountains was look out our kitchen window. But after living in DC for many years, seeing mountains again was like taking a ‘happy pill’ for me.  Magnificent, almost spiritual, definitely calming.  That’s what makes what’s happening to our forests so tragic and personally painful.

I’m not going to argue “WHY” climate change is happening, that’s not the point. The point is that climate change is here. The world is warmer, resulting in changes in our environment that we simply can no longer ignore – yet continue to.

“If you believe [climate change] exists, you are somehow—you are at least a socialist.”  —Howard Hallman, describing the prevailing attitude.

Even the most skeptical of skeptics now admit climate change is happening, and that human activity is partly responsible.

Extreme weather is here and it’s going to get worse, so it’s time to take our heads out of the sand and figure out how we’re going to deal with it.

• on a personal level, how we’re going to afford the energy bills when 100+ degree days become the norm in places they used to be rare, and how we’re going to keep living 100-year floods that  become regular events.
• on a regional level like how farmers are going to provide the food we expect at affordable prices when there’s no water for the crops or the livestock, and states pay for increasing fires and flooding.
• on a global level, as entire populations are migrating due to coastal flooding, erosion, lack of water and agricultural disruption.

Even the U.S. military is developing scenarios to deal with potential national and global security issues around the devastation caused by extreme weather events around the world.

They say the first step in solving a problem is admitting it exists.  When we start screaming along with the trees, when we admit what’s right in front of our faces, we’ll be on our way to making the changes required to mitigate the devastation.

Until then, hold on to your hats. It’s going to be a wild ride.

The views, opinions and judgments expressed are solely my own.  Message contents have not been reviewed or approved by AARP.

Photo by USDAgov

I don’t have that particular fixture in my house, but I still get overwhelmed walking down the lightbulb aisle of the hardware store. Our choices used to be 100, 75, or 60 watts, single wattage or 3-way, and maybe a few different shapes.  Now the choices of CFL, halogen, halogen incandescent and LED are growing annually. Luckily, with increased choices come improvements in lighting quality and energy efficiencies.

There are even 3-way and dimmable CFL’s and LED’s now, and the lighting quality has improved by leaps and bounds over first-generation offerings.

I found some great primers on the changes in lighting technology, and you’ll want to take a look before you head out to pick up any replacement bulb. You’ll pay more at the register, but with bulbs that last 50,000 hours and use 75% LESS energy than the old incandescents, the savings will light up your smile! (pun intended) I think even Edison himself would approve.

Photo by  Clean Wal-Mart on Flickr.

I know, I know, there is something to be said for the convenience of a water bottle.  There are times I’ve succumbed to the plastic – like when I pack the kids a goodie bag for a road trip and I know if I gave them one of my reusable bottles I’d never see it again! ( I have blind faith that the ’recycle’ mantra I tried to program in them insures the bottle makes it into the bin.) The convenience sometimes trumps the cost. But the convenience of this addition to our throw-away lifestyle will never trump the actual costs of this scourge.

For example:

• Picture the water  bottle 1/4 full of oil. That’s how much it took to manufacture, transport and distribute that single bottle.
• 1,000,000 cars for 1 year! That’s how much oil is used to produce the water bottles the U.S. uses each  year. Drill, baby, drill?
• Americans buy approximately 35 BILLION water bottles each year, and we’re only recycling about 25% of them.
• Taxpayers pay hundreds millions of dollars each year in disposal and litter cleanup costs for the other 75%.
• 44% of all seabirds have been found with plastic in or around their bodies, often mistaking bits for food in one of the 5 great plastic garbage gyres in our oceans.

Most consumers probably assume that bottled water is better than what comes out of the tap. Actually, bottled water is  LESS REGULATED than municipal water sources. None of the top 10 U.S. domestic bottled water brands  even label specific water sources and treatment methods for their products. You can check your brand to see how it stacks up on the Environmental Working Group’s bottled water report card. (EWG is a great source for lots of consumer information on cosmetics, sunscreen, organics, etc. )

I know that water bottle with the beautiful island scene on the label is sexy to hold and makes you feel hip, but get over it! Do something good for your health, your wallet and the environment – turn on the faucet! Add a filter at home if it makes you feel better, I do.

And for the times that little bottle is just too hard to resist – REFILL and RECYCLE.  Now if only they could figure out how to make a home filter that churns out light beer….

Stay green and healthy!

Image credit: Brian Smithson on Flickr.

When did it get so hard to know what was healthy, wholesome food?

Most Americans, roughly 90% of us, believe that genetically modified foods,  or GMO’s, should be labeled as such. Yet if you asked that same 90% to name a GMO food, could they? Would they, and are you, surprised to learn that about 80% of the processed food we eat contain GMO’s, and a significant portion of our farm crops are grown with GMO patented seed? I know I was.

I’ve probably read over a dozen articles, pro and con GMO’s, trying to get a handle on this issue.  It’s not as simple as I thought. As with most vigorous debates, the rhetoric can be emotionally charged.  Reading about ‘Agent Orange Corn’ , ‘Frankenfoods’, ‘Monsanto Sues Nature’ (great cartoons!), and ‘Enviropig‘ shows just how complex the debate is. The thing that bothered me the most, however, is not the fact that researchers are working to find ways to feed a hungrier planet in the throes of a changing climate. I get that. It’s just how much huge corporations are creating a strangle-hold on the world’s food supply.

Here’s an unbelievable example of how small farmers are losing out to big agri-business. Farmer A is growing organic, non GMO corn. Farmer B down the road is using Monsanto’s GMO corn in his field. Bird A, Insect A and Breeze A inadvertantly pick up some pollen from Farmer B’s corn and deposit it on Farmer A’s corn, (called cross-pollination), corrupting the ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ corn Farmer A’s customers are waiting to buy. That’s not good you say. Well, it just gets better. Monsanto has actually sued HUNDREDS of farmers for patent infringement, because they’re now growing Monsanto patented corn! Unable to afford the legal defense, many farmers have had no choice but to sell to big ag, and Monsanto’s profits have soared.

We can read the emotional pleas about saving the family farm and bemoan the ever increasing price of food. Our farm policies were built with farmers in mind,  but until Congress figures out how to protect the rights of individual farmers with substantial changes to our farm policies, big business and BIG MONEY will continue to take over our food supply. Now that’s what I call  Frankenfood!

Stay green and healthy!

 Photo by Muffet

“Weeks after homeowners and lawn care professionals began applying the new product on lawns, golf courses and cemeteries around the country in the spring last year, many trees on those properties, primarily conifers, started turning brown and dying. By August, DuPont had pulled it from the market, and the federal EPA banned it shortly afterward.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/us/dupont-says-claims-over-herbicide-hit-the-millions.html?_r=3

Turfgrass is a wonderful invention.   As a horticulture major at Oregon State University more than a few years ago, one of my favorite courses was in turf management. (Yes, I did, and do, get teased a lot about that…) One thing I remember from my studies is that it can take A LOT of chemicals to keep a lawn green and weed-free.  BUT, why do we insist on completely weed free golf courses, public spaces and even front yards? Is the price we’re paying really worth it?

You can have a healthy, if not perfect, lawn & garden without the overuse of chemicals, however.

1. Practice prudent lawn and garden chemical use. The EPA has a simple guide to maintaining a greener, healthier yard.
2. Don’t fight Mother Nature! Plant native species and you’ll fight fewer pests, weeds and water less!
3. Know what you’re using! Read labels and follow instructions! Overuse of chemical fertilizers is one of the leading causes of public waterway pollution.
4. Avoid the ”Invisible Monsters“.  Learn as much as you can before you choose to use chemicals. There’s lots of free information available by a variety of trusted sources.

My little townhouse backyard is keeping me busy every week pulling the weeds that thrive in the DC summer heat and humidity. Every time I’m tempted to reach for the Roundup though, I remember what it was like just a little over a year ago when the radiologist confirmed the mammogram results – it was cancer.

Some of those weeds are actually kind of cute!

Stay green and healthy.

photo by John E Kaminski

Fuschia Foot

This definitely falls into the “I’ve got good news and bad news” category – it’s not JUST the food we eat that’s packing on the pounds.  It’s almost everything we use, eat, drink, touch and smell in our modern lives – and it’s even affecting our babies. (That’s the worst of the bad news to this new grandma. Shout out to Lorelei Grace born 6/20!)

They’re called obesogens, and they’re ubiquitous. Much of the plastic we store and buy food in, many toys, including those targeted to infants,  food can liners, non-stick pans, even shower curtains contain these harmful toxic substances.

I first heard about these toxins during a wonderful meeting with Dr. Richard Denison, senior scientist in the health group at EDF. Then, as often happens, I started noticing  the topic popping up everywhere!  Almost two years ago, Dr. Oz talked about them in a very easy to understand way.  A recent article in US News  focused on the relationship between phthalates and the rise of obesity in very young children.  And their presence in seemingly every aspect of our lives shows just how difficult it will be trying to eliminate our exposure to them.

Remember the saying “Better Living through Chemistry”?  Well, I guess it’s time to rethink how we incorporate the endless stream of current and yet-to-be-instroduced chemicals into our everyday lives without tougher, longer ranging review.  It seems the current “innocent until proven guilty” paradigm has led us to a place we never anticipated.

Stay green and healthy!

photo by Fuschia Foot via flickr

June is ‘Great Outdoors Month’ and each region of the country offers its unique way in which we welcome the summer.

One of my favorite summer memories is when dad would come home on Friday afternoons and say “Let’s go camping this weekend”! Believe it or not, in the 60’s we could actually throw the tent, the ‘chuck box’ and all 7 of us in the station wagon and be camping on San Clemente State Beach a couple of hours later. Ah the good old days!

Summer is indeed in full swing and whether you live in California, Virginia, Maine or Texas, here are 5 ways to make sure you’re armed and ready for the toll summer can take on you, and your family’s health.

Heat & Sun Safety: Skin cancer/melanoma is the most common cancer among young adults, and there will be over 2,000,000 (yes MILLION) TOTAL new cases diagnosed in 2012. It’s true that sun damage is cumulative, but it’s still important to protect our skin in our golden years (pun intended!)

I love that ‘healthy glow’ as much as the next person and admit to more than a few hours spent on the deck of a cruise ship in April, but never without at least SPF 30 mineral based sunscreen all over plus a wide brimmed hat to help avoid any more wrinkles on this 50+ year old face.

Check the UV Index and heat index for an accurate forecast of the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and the heat & humidity forecasts for your area before heading out.

Insect Repellents: Effective insect repellents can protect you from serious mosquito- and tick-borne diseases. In the United States, mosquitoes can transmit diseases like St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus. Ticks can transmit serious diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever  and Ehrlichiosis.

Know the insect hazards in your area and use the appropriate repellent. I like to access the Environmental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” database  to find the products with the lowest toxicity ratings.

Hurricane Readiness: 37 million Americans, about 12% of our population, live in coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas – hurricane areas. Having lived through a doozy and gone without electricity for four days, I know first hand how important it is to have batteries, clean water and other basic supplies on hand in case of emergency.

Many medications require refrigeration; make sure you have a clear action plan for dealing with the loss of electricity for medications or medical devices you or a loved one relies on.

Air Quality Index: Did you know that 10 – 20%  of all summertime respiratory-related hospital visits in some areas of the U.S. are associated with ozone pollution, which is especially worse in hot weather. Ozone pollution can affect anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer, particularly children and the elderly and repeated exposure to ozone pollution may cause permanent damage to the lungs. Even low ozone levels can trigger health problems in some people when it is inhaled; these can include chest pains, coughing, nausea, throat irritation, and congestion.

It’s important to check the air quality index before making plans that might put you or your family’s health in danger.

Check the Beach Water Quality:  The CDC has found the incidence of infections associated with recreational water use has steadily increased over the past decades.

While it’s a bummer to have to stay out of  your favorite spot at the lake, river or ocean, suffering from gastroenteritis, dysentery, and vomiting are even more of a bummer!  More serious pathogens can lead to neurologic infections and more.

I experienced this firsthand when my daughter, just home from college, went tubing in the local river with friends. Two days later she was in the hospital with a foot the size of Texas and the infectious disease specialists trying to figure out which bacteria had entered the tiny cut on her foot. A 3-day hospital stay and massive doses of IV antibiotics later, she came home on crutches. Needless to say, she won’t be dipping her toes in that river any time soon.

I hope you have some great plans with family and friends this summer. With a little preparation and pre-outing location checks, it’s sure to be one to remember.