A report on the widening girth of America hit headlines today. The expanding waistline of America (and elsewhere no doubt) continues despite economic constraints. We continue the unnecessary and excessive calorie consumption even if we can’t afford it financially or even for the good of our health. For a very few people, obesity is physiologically …
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Author:astraea
Vegetarians ‘avoid more cancers’
It’s been known for centuries that a low/non-meat diet is healthier for you, as well as better for the planet. Here’s another scientific study backing up the health claims reported by Cancer Research UK: Vegetarians less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters which reported the study Cancer incidence in British vegetarians from the British …
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At last, real veg allowed back in to the EU.
The EU bureaucrats have finally wised up to the waste and frustration of regulating the shape and look of fruit and vegetables. We know from our garden how weird they can be, naturally. Like this one … It was a ludicrous regulation when it was brought in and it’s sad that it’s taken 20 years …
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Grab land! The food is running out.
South Korea’s biggest is 1.3 million hectares in Madagascar. China’s is 1.24 million in the Philippines. With rich, resource-poor nations increasingly outsourcing their food production to less developed nations, a new website aims to expose the extent of the agricultural land-grab epidemic. It’s a simple if iniquitous equation: rich countries with limited land resources snap …
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Greenwash undermines green living – the 7 sins of greenwash.
Natural. Non-toxic. Biodegradable. It’s possible for manufacturers to cover a multitude of environmental sins with a carefully – if inaccurately – chosen word. And most of them do, as a US House of Representatives committee on greenwash recently found. 98% of the products claiming to be environmentally friendly are guilty of greenwash. That in itself …
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Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Famous for his ‘earth from above footage’, photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s new film, Home, is a feast for the eyes with a strong ecological message. It’s not the usual eco-movie. It’s filmed from above, which makes it spectacular. It gradually unfolds a story, starting with the birth of Earth, and then moves onto how it developed, …
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Organic ‘mainstream agriculture in waiting’
We’ve known for a long time that organic agriculture is what the planet needs. A new report shows how much it has to offer and that it must become the mainstream. The new independent report by the University of Reading shows that organic farming has “much to offer” and “is, perhaps, mainstream agriculture in waiting.” …
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Sharks becoming extinct because of overfishing.
The latest report from International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is the first time that IUCN Red List criteria, considered the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of plants and animals, have been used to classify open ocean, or pelagic, sharks and rays. The Red list gives the status of 64 types …
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Global Development Finance Report 2009, World Bank
The World Bank’s annual Global Development Finance combines a diagnosis of recent trends and prospects for capital flows to developing countries with an analysis of important policy issues. Amidst global economic recession and financial-market fragility, net private capital inflows to developing countries fell to $707 billion in 2008, a sharp drop from a peak of …
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BT Notes – solstice, fathers’ day, community games.
Solstice, father’s day and community games. Whew! The great thing about the summer solstice (4.20am this morning) is that it marks the longest day of the year. Sunrise is 4.57 and sunset 21.57, with an extra 60 to 90 minutes of light at dawn and dusk as light spills over the horizon, daylight lasts for …
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