tag:www.naturalawakenings.com,2005:/categories/other?page=10Other | Natural Awakenings Magazine Page 10Healthy Living Healthy Planet2019-08-16T00:53:41-04:00urn:uuid:5ad1bddb-fc5e-4488-8ae2-5a60f26e88a62019-08-16T00:53:41-04:002019-08-16T00:53:41-04:00Stand Up: March for Science this Earth Day2017-03-31 10:21:09 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">C</span>oncerned citizens will unite on April 22 for a March for Science in Washington, D.C., and locations around the world to champion robustly funding and publicly communicating science for the common good as a pillar of freedom and prosperity. The group is calling on political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence-based standards in the public interest. The focus will showcase science as a tool to find answers and influence decisions at all levels, from astronomy to zoology, including environmental science and climate change.</p>
<p>Jacquelyn Gill, Ph.D., was part of the original group sparking the idea of a March for Science via her initial tweet. “We know how to keep our air and water clean, and the outcomes of the research should inform the policy,” says Gill, an assistant professor of paleoecology and plant ecology at the University of Maine.</p>
<p>Caroline Weinberg, a New York City science writer and program co-chairwoman, says, “Within hours, satellite marches were popping up around the country, then the world.” Organizers report several hundred established event locations and the number continues to grow.</p>
<p><br>
<em>To join or create an event, visit <a href="http://MarchForScience.com/satellite-marches">MarchForScience.com/satellite-marches</a>.</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:613324f4-09c0-44d9-89aa-71744b7cb29b2019-08-16T00:45:15-04:002019-08-16T00:45:15-04:00Free Fuel: Hydrogen Conversion From Water Making Gains2017-01-31 12:46:08 -0500Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">S</span>cientists at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, report that they have finally unlocked a major barrier to exploiting a renewable energy source through extracting pure hydrogen from water. Because the best-performing catalysts for electrochemical oxidation, or “water splitting”, are expensive precious metals, the research team led by KTH Professor Licheng Sun developed molecular catalysts for water oxidation with an efficiency approaching that of natural photosynthesis comprising common, abundant elements, all of which could help change the economics of large-scale hydrogen fuel production.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Daniel Nocera, a professor of energy at Harvard University, and Pamela Silver, a professor of biochemistry and systems biology at Harvard Medical School, have co-created a system that uses solar energy to split water molecules and hydrogen-eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels. Their paper, whose lead authors include post-doctoral fellow Chong Liu and graduate student Brendan Colón, was recently published in <em>Science</em>.</p>
<p>“This is a true artificial photosynthesis system,” says Nocera. “Previously, people were using artificial photosynthesis for water-splitting, but this is a true A-to-Z system, and we’ve greatly exceeded the efficiency of photosynthesis in nature.”</p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the February 2017 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:c9110aec-9d0c-4bae-98c8-7eea9f28599e2019-08-16T00:45:55-04:002019-08-16T00:45:56-04:00Watch the Birdie: Selfies Promote Animal Cruelty and Death2017-01-31 12:46:06 -0500Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">Z</span>achary Crockett, of <a href="http://Pricenomics.com">Pricenomics.com</a>, has found that since 2014, 49 people were killed in attempts to take pictures of themselves with wild creatures. Although there are no statistics on how many animals have been harmed due to selfies, wildlife organizations such as Care for the Wild International are appealing to the public to stop using animals as props.</p>
<p>Visitors to China’s Yunnan Wild Animal Park lured captive peacocks from their enclosure and grabbed them by their tails. The birds died as a result. Another group of people at a beach in Argentina was filmed mobbing a baby Franciscana dolphin, an endangered species, while taking pictures, resulting in its death likely through shock and severe dehydration from being removed from the water for too long.</p>
<p>Due to the high demand by tourists to take pictures with wild animals, special photographic settings are popping up in Mexico, Europe and Morocco. However, the Association for British Travel Agents stated that no legitimate sanctuary would allow animals to be used as photo props.</p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the February 2017 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:92d5d7c7-a813-4b68-b1ef-88193de9570c2019-08-16T00:42:23-04:002019-08-16T00:42:23-04:00Stephen Dinan Outlines America’s Noble Destiny: Bridging Our Political Divide is Key2016-11-02 18:56:00 -0400Mary Magline<p><span class="dropcap">S</span>tephen Dinan, founder and CEO of The Shift Network, is a champion of the transpartisan movement that seeks to transcend America’s current political climate to realize greater unity and understanding. His new book, <em>Sacred America, Sacred World: Fulfilling Our Mission in Service to All</em>, offers innovative, practical solutions for engaging citizens in an emerging whole.</p>
<p>Dinan has forwarded thinking in his work with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, where he helped shape the Shift in Action and One Minute Shift programs, and with the Esalen Center for Theory & Research, a think tank he helped create to explore human potential frontiers. He is also an active member of the Evolutionary Leadership and Transformational Leadership councils.</p>
<p><em><strong>What political problem tops the list if we’re to make progress on anything?</strong></em></p>
<p>We all know that American politics suffers from extreme polarization. Just as the middle class has faded away from our economy, the bipartisan “middle” has dropped out of our political process. In the last two decades, moderates have become far less prominent, giving way to ideologues on both sides of the aisle. As a result, Congress is virtually unable to legislate, because politicians on the left and right insist they have all the answers. They often refuse to work with the president if he is from the other party. This childish behavior is a far cry from the bipartisan approach to solving problems that once made this country great. Our country is falling apart and we need to renew ourselves by finding a sacred vision of national unity.</p>
<p>The fast-growing transpartisan movement offers an answer that can be aided by perspectives of transpersonal psychology and a visionary spiritual dimension drawn from wisdom traditions of the East and West.</p>
<p><em><strong>How is transpartisan best defined?</strong></em></p>
<p>Transpartisan means that Americans can rise above damaging divisions. It provides hope that if we supply the right intention, we can hold to a vision that honors the ideals of a wide range of viewpoints. No one can be 100 percent right or 100 percent wrong, and we transcend limiting conservative and liberal categories by using dialogue and maturity in embracing the truths of all parties, while leaving behind their excesses and errors.</p>
<p>We can belong to any party and claim an important piece of the truth; a singular truth we stand for, such as liberty or social justice or economic growth, but it represents only a personal selection from a larger set of sacred American principles. To attain insight into these principles, we must move to an enlightened vision that honors all political perspectives, seeing each as a valuable, yet incomplete contribution toward the emerging whole.</p>
<p><em><strong>Why have you called for a sacred America?</strong></em></p>
<p>“Sacred” is a word that binds us together in the mystery of life and links us into a single human family in which ultimately no one is our enemy. A sacred worldview leads to a life filled with respect and reverence. It informs and enables us as we reach for our highest destiny as a country, not built on a desire to be number one, but a humble sense of calling, animated by a spirit of service to all.</p>
<p>America is being called to explore new frontiers politically, economically and spiritually, in service to our own citizens and the world. We are to embrace a path away from the waste and tragedy of war and toward universal health, sustainability and prosperity. It requires the best of both progressive and conservative values and a collaborative style of politics that seeks higher ground. Global accords and councils will replace the endless posturing of every military era.</p>
<p><em><strong>What have you, as a progressive, learned from conservatives?</strong></em></p>
<p>Conservatives tend to focus on preserving what has worked in the past, which is a useful function. In the human body, we have strong elements required for health that basically protect its homeostasis. Too much change happening too quickly can be dangerous to us. Conservatives often play the same role in society, minimizing the risk of chaotic change and preserving core values, commitments and culture.</p>
<p>I’ve found that embracing conservative values and perspectives is a good form of cross-training in my role as a spiritually based CEO, where it’s imperative that I not risk everything on each new idea. A moderate path draws upon the best of conservative perspectives while opening to new possibilities for innovation and cultural expression, which tends to be a focus of progressives.</p>
<p><em><strong>How can we replace political gridlock with a more perfect union?</strong></em></p>
<p>The ultimate solution comes in personally building bridges of curiosity, respect and understanding, and recognizing that true, lasting answers to extremely complex problems require the best thinking of all parties and ideologies so that some hybridization of solutions happens.</p>
<p>We may not come to consensus on major issues, but we can come into deep dialogue and human exchange. Extending a hand of friendship across the aisle is ultimately one of the most important things we can do as citizens. The women members of the Senate have led the way in doing this, often creating breakthroughs through their personal connections with members of the other major party.</p>
<p><br>
<em>For more information visit <a href="http://StephenDinan.com">StephenDinan.com</a> or <a href="http://TheShiftNetwork.com">TheShiftNetwork.com.</a></em></p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the November 2016 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:99e25729-bfc1-485b-9671-cece7a7a26582019-08-16T00:53:04-04:002019-08-16T00:53:04-04:00Chemical Testing: Consumer and Animal Protections Update2016-10-31 11:13:20 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is a new federal law that restricts animal testing and requires regulators to develop technology-based alternatives. It updates the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, which insisted non-animal tests be used whenever possible and established a precedent for developing animal-free testing, including vitro and silico (computer simulation) methods. Earlier this year, the John Hopkins University School of Medicine made strides in removing the use of animals from medical training and cosmetic testing.</p>
<p>Now all new chemicals will have to meet specific safety standards. Clothing, couches and cleaning products, among many other consumer goods, contain chemicals linked to cancer, Parkinson’s and other serious health problems, but are not routinely tested for safety. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will now have new authority to require testing with a legal mandate to review existing chemicals on the market.</p>
<p>Along with updating rules for tens of thousands of everyday chemicals, the law specifically sets safety standards for dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde, asbestos and styrene. It aims to standardize on the national level what is currently a jumble of state rules governing an $800-billion-a-year industry.</p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the November 2016 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:343b1213-df9a-4715-b4ba-ab83a9ef75bb2019-08-16T01:23:50-04:002019-08-16T01:23:50-04:00Thanksgiving Lite: Turning the Tide for Turkeys2016-10-31 11:13:00 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>urkeys and Thanksgiving go together for 88 percent of Americans surveyed by the National Turkey Federation. Each year, more than 46 million turkeys provide the entrée for gatherings, yielding leftovers for sandwiches, stew, chili, casseroles and turkey burgers. In 2011, 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S., while a few lucky birds avoided the chopping block.</p>
<p>The pardoning of a White House turkey began in 1863 when President Lincoln’s son, Tad, interceded on behalf of the bird and its life was spared. Now a tradition, two dressed birds and one live turkey are delivered to the White House each year. The live bird is “pardoned” and lives out its life on a historical farm.</p>
<p>At the Farm Sanctuary, turkeys get sponsored or adopted instead of eaten. “Turkeys are friendly and follow you around like puppy dogs. They’ll try to sit on your lap to be petted,” says Gene Baur, president and co-founder of the sanctuary’s New York and two California locations. “At our Celebration for the Turkeys, we feed them cranberries, pumpkin pie and squash. People visit to see them enjoy it. Guests’ snacks are vegan.”</p>
<p>Hundreds of turkeys have been adopted and given a lifelong home since the program’s inception in 1986. More than 8,000 people pledged to sponsor a turkey living at the sanctuary in a recent year, proving it’s not necessary to be a president to pardon a turkey.</p>
<p><br>
<em>Source: <a href="http://FarmSanctuary.org/giving/adopt-a-turkey">FarmSanctuary.org/giving/adopt-a-turkey</a></em></p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the November 2016 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:7fad4dcc-6b27-4768-a41a-1aa1e7fd39232019-08-16T00:15:20-04:002019-08-16T00:15:20-04:00Boo! To-Do: Join the Safer Halloween Movement2016-09-30 10:59:00 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">H</span>alloween can be safe, economical and eco-friendly fun. Crusader costumes remain popular this year, but with a tutu twist. Avoid long skirts or capes that can trip up children and instead recycle a princess tulle skirt from a thrift shop into a shorter frock. T-shirt tops with a superhero logo plus a painted cardboard headpiece transforms kids into do-gooders. Homemade natural face paints are another alternative (see <a href="http://Tinyurl.com/Trick-Treat-Tips">Tinyurl.com/Trick-Treat-Tips</a>).</p>
<p>Treats should also be eco-friendly. Equal Exchange offers fair trade, organic and kosher low-fat chocolates from crops grown by small farmers in the Dominican Republic and Peru, shipped in a quantity big enough to split the cost with friends (<a href="http://Shop.EqualExchange.coop/chocolate.html">Shop.EqualExchange.coop/chocolate.html</a>). Nut-free, homemade trail mix, wrapped in eco-friendly tissue paper or a square of cloth tied shut, provides a welcome change from sweets.</p>
<p>In 2014, the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) organization launched the Teal Pumpkin Project. Place a downloadable sign in a window to announce that non-food, Earth-friendly treats are offered at the house for kids with allergies or food sensitivities (<a href="http://Tinyurl.com/TealHalloweenPumpkins">Tinyurl.com/TealHalloweenPumpkins</a>).</p>
<p class="fineprint"><br>
<em>This article appears in the October 2016 issue of </em>Natural Awakenings.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:d66cf333-db48-4c7c-b915-6d188b8994a92019-08-16T00:16:42-04:002019-08-16T00:16:42-04:00Show Stopper: Circuses Cease Exotic Animal Acts2016-07-29 11:50:13 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he Ringling Brothers Circus made good on a promise to retire their last contingent of performing elephants to the Center for Elephant Conservation, in Polk City, Florida, with the last such show streamed worldwide in May.</p>
<p>While Ringling will retain the services of tigers, lions, leopards, horses, camels, dogs and kangaroos, the Mexican Congress has voted to prohibit exotic animals under big tops across their country.<br>
That means no more tigers jumping through hoops, elephants used as props or monkeys dressed in tiny outfits. The bill requires circuses to report the wildlife they own, which would then be made available to interested zoos.</p>
<p><br>
<em>Source: </em>The New York Times</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:53ccfe26-194f-454c-84e1-5979939b615b2019-08-16T01:10:15-04:002021-08-30T21:48:39-04:00Free Park-ing: National Parks Announce Fee-Free Days2016-03-31 10:48:08 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he National Park Service turns 100 years young in 2016 and is offering free admission on special days. Next up are April 16 to 24, National Park Week; August 25 to 28, its birthday celebration; September 24, National Public Lands Day; and November 11, Veterans Day. They invite everyone to come out and play.</p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:4b17e932-97a9-4851-8019-8f72110494892019-08-16T00:05:34-04:002019-08-16T00:05:34-04:00Sky Kings: Agricultural Drones May Boost Sustainability2015-10-30 10:59:08 -0400Anonymous<p><span class="dropcap">B</span>eginning November 15, farmers will be able to implement flying drones to perform important tasks in their fields. That’s when changes in Federal Aviation Administration regulations will loosen many of the current restrictions on this new technology.</p>
<p>Advocates believe the devices can improve precision agriculture management that uses GPS and data collection to boost crop yields and profits while aiding water conservation. For the first time, the drones will be operated legally during an entire growing season, allowing companies to test their business models and technologies together. This boost in crop intelligence should make farms more efficient and help smaller operations compete with well-funded big agribusiness conglomerates whose fields are typically rife with genetically modified (GMO) crops.</p>
<p>“This is the first year we’ll actually be able to see, by the time the growing season is over, the impact on the farmer and the impact of the quality of the grapes,” says David Baeza, whose precision agriculture startup Vine Rangers uses drones and ground robots to gather data on vineyard crops. “The biggest thing to watch is what’s going to happen to giants like Monsanto. How you define this market is changing, and the incumbents are in for a battle.”</p>
<p><br>
<em>Source: </em>Fortune<em> magazine</em></p>
<hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>