Terra: Western wildfires & help for children
Numerous raging wildfires and possible dust events spread a pall of smoke over much of the western and midwestern United States.
And, this from the Early Childhood Team, Office of Lt. Governor Garcia:
The wildfires are currently affecting many Colorado residents, including young children. We like to direct those interested in donating and volunteering to, www.HelpColoradoNow.org. In addition, the following materials provide information on how to help children during this stressful time:
Talking to Children About Wildfires and Other Natural Disasters
Helping Children After a Wildfire: Tips for Parents and Teachers
Help Colorado wildfire victims & communities
This two-part list is to assist the victims and evacuees of the Colorado wildfires and to direct people who wish to make donations of any kind.
Welcome to the Preview
Predicted sea level rise highest from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Image: U.S. Geological Survey
A few folks have commented on the record heat Colorado is experiencing this month. My response: it’s just a preview. And, it should'nt come as a surprise. This past May was the hottest month in North America on record. Since we are becoming accustomed to breaking records, let me repeat: not average; not below average; not above average; the hottest.
As for Coloradan’s wondering what this summer would be like, we now know. For Denver, today’s headline reads: “Heat wave of Denver weather melting away records; hits 105 again.” It is hard to keep count of the fires in the state; a new one was just announced in south Boulder. With the heat and dry conditions, it’s shaping up to be record-breaking summer.
And, it looks like Colorado is not alone. Various areas of the country are getting Previews this month, either in fact or by prediction. The flash floods in Duluth, Minnesota dumped 5-9 inches overnight “sending what looked like raging rivers through Duluth's streets.” (Can we attribute this specific flood to climate change? No. Does planetary warming result in more saturated air that is going dump water somewhere? Yes.) The U.S. Geological Survey has determined the East Coast from Massachusetts to North Carolina is a “hot spot” for sea level rise with levels predicted to rise “three to four times faster than the global average.” And, for Southern California:
By the middle of the century, the number of days with temperatures above 95 degrees each year will triple in downtown Los Angeles, quadruple in portions of the San Fernando Valley and even jump five-fold in a portion of the High Desert in L.A. County, according to a new UCLA climate change study.
At least we are getting a Preview and we should not be surprised by climate extremes the rest of the decade and beyond.
What do we do now? Many already conserve, recycle, or are otherwise proactive in ways big and small. We all need to claim our ecological citizenshipand not wait for governmental action. Whether we care or not, we are all ecological citizens. What we individually take from, or give back to our global ecology eventually comes back to support us or bites us. Although I am optimistic and believe we will, in the clutch, solve the climate spiral, we will hit the guardrail. The question is, how hard?
Appeals Court rejects challenge to Clean Air Act
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007)—which clarified that greenhouse gases are an “air pollutant” subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA)—the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated a series of greenhouse gas-related rules.
Petitioners, various states and industry groups, challenge all these rules, arguing that they are based on improper constructions of the CAA and are otherwise arbitrary and capricious. But for the reasons set forth below, we conclude: 1) the Endangerment Finding and Tailpipe Rule are neither arbitrary nor capricious; 2) EPA’s interpretation of the governing CAA provisions is unambiguously correct; and 3) no petitioner has standing to challenge the Timing and Tailoring Rules. We thus dismiss for lack of jurisdiction all petitions for review of the Timing and Tailoring Rules, and deny the remainder of the petitions. (emphasis added)
via Dot Earth
Paleo & primal treats
Image: Steve's Original
Your Paleo diet probably consists of lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, selected tubers, nuts and berries. But every now and then you need an on-the-go Paleo or pirmal treat. Here are some choices to consider:
Milk and exercise-induced asthma
In his most recent book, The Paleo Answer, Dr. Loren Cordain, takes a deeper dive into the mechanisms through which the typical Western diet contributes to illness. On the relationship between milk and exercise-induced asthma, Dr. Cordain writes:
If the gut becomes leaky, which it invariably does on a typical Western diet, beta casomorphin-7 in milk can enter our blood stream and travel to our chests, where it stimulates production from MUC5AC glands located in our lungs and respiratory tracts. A final piece of this puzzle is that beta-casamorphin-7 is much more likely to trigger mucous production if the lungs and the respiratory tract are inflamed by asthma. Many people’s exercise-induced asthma symptoms disappear on the Paleo Diet.
He then presents a case reported by a personal trainer:
I am a trainer, and I work with very overweight woman, Jenny, who recently started my boot camp. She weighs 360 pounds at present. Until recently, she also suffered from exercise-induced asthma. For the first week of boot camp, she could ot get through a class without her inhaler. Although I admired her dedication, it was painful and a bit scary to watch.
Then I put her on the Paleo Diet. This week, after doing this for a little less than two weeks, she no longer needs her inhaler. Miraculous!
Jenny’s also doing great on the diet – she’s not hungry at all, so I know the weight will be coming off soon as well.
Brittany Trilford to Rio+20: "Are you here to save face?"
Seventeen-year-old Brittany Trilford speaks for the children of the world at the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Watch the video above or read the text of her speech at Climate Central.
Image: Cinque Terre, Italy
Image: John McLaughlin
A friend and colleague captured this beautiful image of Cinque Terra on his recent trip to Italy. What attracts us to this kind of image is the balance - Terra not dominated by the Anthropocene - humankind surrounded, almost cradled, by the environment.
If we could only relearn these lessons.
Related Posts
Welcome to the Anthropocene: Humankind's layer on the Earth
The Stockholm Memorandum and the strain of the Anthropocene
New to Paleo? A few links to get you started
The ancestral diet, also known as the Paleo diet, is an approximation of the original diet of our ancestors living before the development of agriculture and animal husbandry around 10,000 years ago. They ate lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and berries. Studies reveal our ancestors were taller and healthier than people today. Below are some books, websites, and a DVD to help you learn about this new - and yet very old! - approach to nutrition.
BOOKS
The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat (2010) - Dr. Loren Cordain is a top expert on the nutrition of our ancestors. This book should serve as the main gudie for the Paleo diet.
The Paleo Answer (2012) - Dr Cordain’s new book provides more detail and answers common questions about the Paleo diet.
The Paleo Diet Cookbook: More than 150 recipes for Paleo Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Beverages by Loren Cordain, Nell Stephenson, and Lorrie Cordain.
Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals. This primal cookbook was written by Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier.
WEB SITES
Marks Daily Apple – this very popular site covers diet, fitness, and other aspects of primal health. Check theSuccess Stories link, especially The Unconquerable Dave.
Everyday Paleo – this popular site by Sarah Fragoso has plenty of recipies. Sarah is also the author of the Everyday Paleo cookbook and Paleo Pals, the first children’s book on Paleo nutrition.
MOVIE (DVD)
At the age of 24, CJ Hunt had a health crisis - one that led him to explore a number of human diets is search of the best possible choice to achieve a “longer, healthier and happier” life. The movie, In Search of the Perfect Human Diet, documents his journey. Ready to learn why the Paleo diet may be the best for you? Hunt has already done a lot of the groundwork for you. Order your DVD here or ask your local library to order it.
If you are on a special diet for health reasons, discuss the Paleo diet with your doctor before making changes. Also discuss with your doctor if you have high blood pressure or diabetes since your medications may need to be lowered. Also, if you are on Coumadin or have hemochromatosis, discuss this diet with your doctor before you start.
Success story: Jennifer avoids gastroplasty
Happily, I am no longer considering gastric bypass surgery. All of my hard work has paid off with a 100 pound loss. In fact, based on my current health and body fat percentage, I no longer qualify for bypass surgery. In the future, I know that there will be obstacles, but I also know that I will continue to lose. The goal is to shed 60 more pounds. Losing 100 pounds has been the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Along the way, there have been celebrations and tears, but I’ve never regretted the cookie I didn’t eat.
Paleo diet "the way of the future"?
I recommend this excellent summary of the Paleo diet written by George Dvorsky of iO9. Referring to the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and other modern diseases, Dvorsky declares an increasingly apparent observation: "When it comes to our eating habits, it's clear that we're doing it wrong."
Part of the problem is that virtually everything we thought we knew about eating is wrong; the current health crisis is in no small part caused by widespread and pervasive food confusion - and much of driven and reinforced by the modern food industry. As counterintuitive as it might seem, we now know that saturated fats are good and that salt has been unfairly vilified. It's becoming apparent that whole grains are extremely unhealthy, and that sugar is far, far worse than we previously thought, a conclusion that has led some experts to essentially describe it as poison.
Consequently, a new approach to eating has emerged called the Paleolithic Diet, or simply "Paleo" for short. Advocates of this diet focus on eating unprocessed foods like lean meat, seafood, roots, tubers, fruits, and vegetables. Not only are these foods comprehensible to the human digestive system, they pack much more nutrition per calorie than typical Neolithic and processed foods.
The increasing interest in Paleo nutrition is evidenced by the growing number forums including the Ancestral Health Symposiums where:
.... a niche group of scientists, medical practitioners, and health experts are paving the way for what is likely to become a health and wellness paradigm for the future.
Paleo Magazine in natural foods stores
On the way home after giving an evening lecture across town, I stopped by a Whole Foods Market along the way for some dinner. In the magazine rack next to the cashier, I was surprised to see a copy of Paleo Magazine. Launched in May 2011 by publisher and editor Cain Credicott, the magazine features contributions from the Paleo/Primal community.
In addition to Whole Foods Market, Paleo Magazine is available at Sunflower Market, Clark's Natural Foods, and Earth Origins Market, among others. To see if the magazine is available your area, try the Paleo Magazine Store Locator.
A primal success story
As I got closer to college, and gained and lost, and gained it all back plus more, I got more discouraged. I needed to lose 40 lbs, then 50 – my parents got more concerned. Bribery: promises of money, of new clothes, of the choice to attend the private university I had fallen in love with on my visit there – they were all dangled before me. And oh, by God, I tried. When conventional methods failed, I tried to make myself throw up – and am now thankful for the fact that it didn’t work.
Kaiser Permanente on the impact of climate change
There’s credible evidence of significant climate change that will impact our ability to provide quality health care. ...What we know so far about the repercussions of climate change isn’t good, such as water shortages and increased wars over resources, and all the health issues that go along with those.
Kathy Gerwig
KP Environmental Stewardship Officer
Climate Progress
Stephanie's Paleo success story
I toyed around with Paleo-esque ways for the first two months of the year, but it wasn't until March that I completely cut out things such as dried fruit (which still contain sugar) and let go of my passion for nuts, as I really wanted to benefit most from the Paleo diet for fat loss. As soon as I cut out gluten, dairy and legumes it was incredible how quickly my situation changed. Definitely the first two weeks were hard but the drive of knowing you are doing something great for your health is what kept me going. I was making a choice to be my best. What initially started out to be a 30-day challenge, was soon after extended, and I haven't turned back since.