95% of dollar bills in Washington DC bear traces of cocaine. The lowest proportion is 77% in Salt Lake City. Many are obviously contaminated as they ciculate through banks, ATM and pockets. But it seems like such a big number that a majority of people would condone legalisation. That day will come when as a …
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Category:Living
Terry Pratchett on death.
From the UK’s Mail on Sunday. Assisted suicide has been in the headlines because the law incriminating those who assist suicide is under review. Sir Terry has alzheimer’s and has written about death for over three decades. I’ll die before the endgame, says Terry Pratchett in call for law to allow assisted suicides in UK …
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Bundanoon outshines the G8. It bans bottled water.
Bundanoon, a rural town in New South Wales, Australia, has voted overwhelmingly to ban the sale of bottled water over concerns about its environmental impact. It may be the first community in the world to have such a ban. 350 residents turned out to vote at the public meeting in the town hall. Only one …
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The shrinking planet.
Although the graphics are not as dramatic as a movie like Independence Day or even An Inconvenient Truth, they show simply and clearly the imbalance between the carrying capacity of the earth and the human population. They also show that the imbalance is growing, rapidly. The only real solution is to reduce the human population. …
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The Kama Sutra finally wins over colonial law in India
The ancient Indian text the Kama Sutra makes an interesting read. It is not just a “sex manual” but also a guide or commentary on human behaviour and society. It allows for the differences in people and offers insight in to the intimate relationships that humans explore, including same gender sex. Homosexuality has always been …
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Meagre market, massive munchies …
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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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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