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This is the weblog of
Raymond Powers.
Here I will be sharing what I find of import, humor, concern, inspiration and on the transformational edge
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A Quote:
"What if you slept, and what if, in your sleep you dreamed? And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? What then?" (Deepak Chopra)
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Raymond lives in Ojai, where the time now is:
12:11PM
Unique Readers:
Primarily
Public Domain
Everything I've written here, except my copyrighted
essays, poetry, lyrics, and music is hereby placed in the public
domain. The quotes from other people's writings, and the pictures
used might or might not be copyrighted, but are considered fair
use. Thus the license here would best be described as:
Primarily Public
Domain.
Please ask permission if there is any question in
regards to public domain usage.
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Syndication:
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| Tuesday, January 17, 2006 |  |
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17 Jan 2006 @ 07:23
Environment in crisis: 'We are past the point of no return'
Thirty years ago, the scientist James Lovelock worked out that the Earth possessed a planetary-scale control system which kept the environment fit for life. He called it Gaia, and the theory has become widely accepted. Now, he believes mankind's abuse of the environment is making that mechanism work against us. His astonishing conclusion - that climate change is already insoluble, and life on Earth will never be the same again. By Michael McCarthy Environment Editor Published: 16 January 2006 The world has already passed the point of no return for climate change, and civilisation as we know it is now unlikely to survive, according to James Lovelock, the scientist and green guru who conceived the idea of Gaia - the Earth which keeps itself fit for life. In a profoundly pessimistic new assessment, published in today's Independent, Professor Lovelock suggests that efforts to counter global warming cannot succeed, and that, in effect, it is already too late. The world and human society face disaster to a worse extent, and on a faster timescale, than almost anybody realises, he believes. He writes: " Before this century is over, billions of us will die, and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable." In making such a statement, far gloomier than any yet made by a scientist of comparable international standing, Professor Lovelock accepts he is going out on a limb. But as the man who conceived the first wholly new way of looking at life on Earth since Charles Darwin, he feels his own analysis of what is happening leaves him no choice. He believes that it is the self-regulating mechanism of Gaia itself - increasingly accepted by other scientists worldwide, although they prefer to term it the Earth System - which, perversely, will ensure that the warming cannot be mastered. This is because the system contains myriad feedback mechanisms which in the past have acted in concert to keep the Earth much cooler than it otherwise would be. Now, however, they will come together to amplify the warming being caused by human activities such as transport and industry through huge emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2 ). It means that the harmful consequences of human beings damaging the living planet's ancient regulatory system will be non-linear - in other words, likely to accelerate uncontrollably.
READ MORE More >
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| Monday, January 16, 2006 | |
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 16 Jan 2006 @ 18:22
Put two and two together.....
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School districts across the U.S. are responding to government funding cutbacks by beginning the sale of ad space on school buses. For participating districts, banners on the outsides and insides of buses carry ads for everything from soda to pizza to banks. The debate over the issue has become quite contentious among parents and school administrators. "I'm sending my child to school to learn, not to be sold junk food," says Denver parent Melissa Hart. Although only a handful of school districts have begun the practice, they're each reporting an average of half a million dollars per year in ad revenues.
JUNK FOOD ADDITIVES STOP NERVE CELL GROWTH
Mixing common additives, such as aspartame an artificial sweetener, Brilliant Blue, Quinoline Yellow or monosodium glutamate (MSG) causes nerve cell damage, say researchers at the University of Liverpool. The results from a two-year study were recently published in the journal Toxicological Sciences. The researchers found the additives were much more potent in combination with each other than on their own. Mice were exposed to concentrations of additive combinations relative to what a child would receive in an average snack and drink. Researchers were surprised to see the additives interfered with nerve signaling systems and actually stopped the nerve cells from growing. Aspartame is commonly found in diet drinks, candies and flavored medicines, while MSG is frequently found in chips, processed cheese and many processed foods. More >
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 16 Jan 2006 @ 18:15
CALIFORNIA COULD BE FIRST US STATE TO RETURN TO INDUSTRIAL HEMP FARMING
A bill in the California Assembly could bring traditional hemp farming back to the United States. Although industrial hemp is commonly used for making products in the U.S., it cannot be legally grown by domestic farmers. These laws contrast early America when farmers were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic, due to the plant's versatility. Often confused with marijuana, industrial hemp is actually a very different plant and contains insignificant levels of THC (tetrahyrdocannabinol), the chemical in marijuana that results in psychotropic effects. Industrial hemp, which can be grown easily without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, can be used to make paper, textiles, bio-fuel, nutrition supplements and fiberboards. Hemp fields clean the air and the soil, and hemp products can be recycled and composted. Industrial hemp production has been illegal in California since 1972. Now there is a bill that would let farmers grow the hemp that is currently imported from other countries. AB 1147, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, must pass out of the Assembly by the end of January in order to be considered by the Senate.
If you are a California resident, please take action now: http://www.organicconsumers.org/cahemp.htm More >
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| Thursday, January 12, 2006 | |
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 12 Jan 2006 @ 08:12
Running on algae
Finding a viable way to replace petroleum will be a major topic at a biotech summit in Waikiki
By Stewart Yerton
On April 2, Hawaii intends to reduce its use of petroleum-based gasoline by nearly 9 percent, as a state law will take effect requiring the use of fuel made from corn, sugar cane and other plants.
The law requires that 85 percent of the gas sold in the state be a blend containing 10 percent ethanol, which is compatible with virtually all cars and commonly used in gas on the mainland.
Although state officials are bracing for potential bumps during the transition, the overarching goal of the policy is simple: to make Hawaii less reliant on fossil fuels and more reliant on fuel that can be produced here.
"It's fairly significant progress," said Maria Tome, an alternative energy engineer with the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "It's a step in the right direction."
This week Hawaii will be a forum for discussions of alternative bioenergy technologies far beyond ethanol. The three-day Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will gather experts from private industry, governments and academia to discuss a variety of emerging technologies. These include "bio-plastics" made with biodegradable material instead of petroleum, biological fuel cells, nanobiotechnology in electronics manufacturing and industrial biotechnology in cosmetics.
But perhaps most relevant to Hawaii in the near future is a series of talks about ethanol production. Made by fermenting and processing grains, corn and sugar cane, ethanol is another name for the alcohol in alcoholic beverages. It's also been used as a fuel for more than a decade in 41 states. In fact, Tome takes pains to describe the ethanol blend gas proposed for Hawaii as E10 to avoid confusion with E85, a blend containing 85 percent ethanol that can be used only in special cars.
READ MORE More >
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| Wednesday, January 11, 2006 | |
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11 Jan 2006 @ 07:33
The Greening of America's Campuses
January 8, 2006
The New York Times
[link]
The Greening of America's Campuses
By TIMOTHY EGAN
THE largest university in Oregon is camouflaged, its many parts spread among
the tight urban canyons of downtown Portland. But one building at Portland
State University stands out. It has a roof of grass, plants and gravel, like
a slice of the high desert on the wet side of Oregon. It is 10 stories high,
and inside, all the mechanical organs work with so little waste - pumping
water, air and electricity to the 400 residents of the dormitory and, on
lower floors, to classrooms - that it would impress even the thrifty New
Englanders who founded Portland.
If it is true, as Winston Churchill said, that "we shape our dwellings, and
afterwards our dwellings shape us," then Portland State's new residence
hall, the Broadway, may be more than environmentally virtuous. Open barely a
year, it is attracting students who say they want their campus home to be a
living laboratory, even if that means low-flow showers are part of a 24-hour
classroom. "This building is really cool, and everybody likes being a part
of it," says Micaiah Fifer, a junior who lives in the Broadway. "I
appreciate the fact that this school is trying to be environmentally
friendly. It's a reason to like the school."
The low water pressure, he admits, "gets to be a little annoying." Still,
students are lining up to take on such challenges. More than a hundred
students at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, were on the waiting
list last fall for what is being promoted as the world's largest green dorm.
Students had to write an essay stating why they wanted to live in the
building, which opened in fall 2004.
READ MORE More >
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11 Jan 2006 @ 07:28
GMC PAD- The Mobile Loft
January 10, 2006 08:09 AM - Lloyd Alter, Toronto
In a recent competition among car design teams, GMC came up with this fantasy:"The GMC PAD, an urban loft with mobility, a concept for living in the ever-changing cultural landscape of Southern California or, quite simply, a modern alternative for those priced out of Southern California’s escalating housing market. It’s a home ownership concept that enables cultural & geographic freedom for the modern city dweller. It’s a concept that represents a reasoned solution to the problems of urban sprawl, development, and it’s damaging effects on the region’s environment."
We suspect there would be a small parking problem.
Why Commute?
With the PAD, your LA Adventure is your next stop. It’s where you live, where you work, or merely where you want to be. Whether located in walking distance from your job @ TBWA\Chiat\Day, spending a couple evenings along PCH, or wintering at Mammoth, with the GMC PAD, home is where you want it. And commuting is what other people do.
Sensible?
The GMC PAD features a Diesel-Electric hybrid system, which acts as a generator for the onboard power grid as well as propulsion for DriveMode. With the PAD’s resource management technology, onboard fuel & water supplies would last for weeks or even months on end. During daylight hours, the PAD’s SkyDeck features 6 M-Sq of photovoltaic cells that collect and store the sun’s natural energy. An electromagnetic suspension aids in leveling & stabilization when the PAD is being used in the LifeMode as well as remarkably easy handling while in DriveMode. More >
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| Sunday, January 8, 2006 | |
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8 Jan 2006 @ 03:54
A friend of a friend sent me this.
It is probably because I work for an organization that delivers such a high level of service that I get so frustrated with computers on the other end of the phone line. I found a list of instructions to get past the machines and to a human for a large number of companies that you may find helpful.
http://paulenglish.com/ivr/
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8 Jan 2006 @ 03:51
Jesus 'Healed Using Cannabis'
By Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
The Guardian - UK
1-7-6
Jesus as almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called kaneh-bosem which has since been identified as cannabis extract, according to an article by Chris Bennett in the drugs magazine, High Times, entitled Was Jesus a Stoner? The incense used by Jesus in ceremonies also contained a cannabis extract, suggests Mr Bennett, who quotes scholars to back his claims.
"There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion," Carl Ruck, professor of classical mythology at Boston University said.
Referring to the existence of cannabis in anointing oils used in ceremonies, he added: "Obviously the easy availability and long-established tradition of cannabis in early Judaism _ would inevitably have included it in the [Christian] mixtures."
Mr Bennett suggests those anointed with the oils used by Jesus were "literally drenched in this potent mixture _ Although most modern people choose to smoke or eat pot, when its active ingredients are transferred into an oil-based carrier, it can also be absorbed through the skin".
Quoting the New Testament, Mr Bennett argues that Jesus anointed his disciples with the oil and encouraged them to do the same with other followers. This could have been responsible for healing eye and skin diseases referred to in the Gospels.
"If cannabis was one of the main ingredients of the ancient anointing oil _ and receiving this oil is what made Jesus the Christ and his followers Christians, then persecuting those who use cannabis could be considered anti-Christ," Mr Bennett concludes.
Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited More >
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| Wednesday, January 4, 2006 | |
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 4 Jan 2006 @ 03:26
Some of you may not know that I am a gourd crafter. I specifically make ceremonial gourd rattles based on patterns from Neolithic Europe 1500-5000BC.
Letecia Layson sent me this article that about the ancient migration of gourds.
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Ancient humans brought bottle gourds to the Americas from Asia
Plants widely used as containers arrived, already domesticated, some 10,000 years ago
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 13, 2005 -- Thick-skinned bottle gourds widely used as containers by prehistoric peoples were likely brought to the Americas some 10,000 years ago by individuals who arrived from Asia, according to a new genetic comparison of modern bottle gourds with gourds found at archaeological sites in the Western Hemisphere. The finding solves a longstanding archaeological enigma by explaining how a domesticated variant of a species native to Africa ended up millennia ago in places as far removed as modern-day Florida, Kentucky, Mexico and Peru.
The work, by a team of anthropologists and biologists from Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Massey University in New Zealand and the University of Maine, appears this week on the web site of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Integrating genetics and archaeology, the researchers assembled a collection of ancient remnants of bottle gourds from across the Americas. They then identified key genetic markers from the DNA of both the ancient gourds and their modern counterparts in Asia and Africa before comparing the plants' genetic make-up to determine the origins of the New World gourds.
"For 150 years, the dominant theory has been that bottle gourds, which are quite buoyant and have no known wild progenitors in the Americas, floated across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa and were picked up and used as containers by people here," says Noreen Tuross, the Landon T. Clay Professor of Scientific Archaeology in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "Much to our surprise, we found that in every case the gourds found in the Americas were a genetic match with modern gourds found in Asia, not Africa. This suggests quite strongly that the gourds that were used as containers in the Americas for thousands of years before the advent of pottery were brought over from Asia."
The researchers say it's possible the domesticated gourds -- differentiated from wild bottle gourds by a much thicker rind -- were conveyed to North America by people who arrived from Asia in boats or who walked across an ancient land bridge between the continents, or that the gourds floated across the Bering Strait after being transported by humans from their native Africa to far northeastern Asia.
"This finding paints a new picture of the founding of the Americas," says co-author Bruce Smith of the Smithsonian Institution. "These people did not arrive here empty-handed; they brought a domesticated plant and dogs with them. They arrived with important tools necessary to survive and thrive on a new continent, including some knowledge of and experience with plant domestication."
Thought to have originated in Africa, bottle gourds (Lagenaria sicereria) have been grown worldwide for thousands of years. The gourds have little food value but their strong, hard-shelled fruits were long prized as containers, musical instruments and fishing floats. This lightweight "container crop" would have been particularly useful to human societies before the advent of pottery and settled village life, and was apparently domesticated thousands of years before any plant was domesticated for food purposes.
Radiocarbon dating indicates that bottle gourds were present in the Americas by 10,000 years ago and widespread by 8,000 years ago. Some of the specimens studied by the team were not only the oldest bottle gourds ever found but also quite possibly the oldest plant DNA ever analyzed. The newest of their archaeological samples, a specimen found in Kentucky, was just 1,000 years old -- suggesting the gourds were used in the New World as containers for at least 9,000 years.
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Tuross and Smith's co-authors on the PNAS paper are David L. Erickson of the National Museum of Natural History, Andrew C. Clarke of Massey University and Daniel H. Sandweiss of the University of Maine. Their work was supported by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of Natural History and by Harvard's Department of Anthropology and Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. More >
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 4 Jan 2006 @ 03:16
New Balance Vegan Sneakers
January 3, 2006 06:31 AM - Kara, Newport, Rhode Island
Next time you need to replace your cross trainers, consider these from New Balance. Available for both men and women, these sneaks are made (and available) in the UK and are suitable for vegans. They can be found at Ethical Wares and come in a few different styles, depending how hardcore you are – shown here are trainers for the mid to high mileage runner.
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 4 Jan 2006 @ 03:14
Compressed Air Underground Battery for Wind Farms
January 3, 2006 07:30 AM - John Laumer, Philadelphia
Wind energy may become even more important if the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities succeeds in launching an innovative wind-powered compressed air energy storage (CAES) facility project they are working on. CAES technology uses off-peak wind turbine generated electricity to pump compressed air into an underground aquifer for use in later generation. The concept of using stored compressed-air energy to help generate electricity is more than 30 years old. Two plants currently exist—an 11-year-old plant in McIntosh, Ala., and a 23-year-old plant in Germany, both with the compressed air stored in caverns created by salt deposits. For you non-engineers, there's a step-by-step explanation after the fold. Caveat: from an environmental standpoint, CAES is not suitable for every wind farm. Saturating free-moving groundwater with pressurized air would change the redox state while the added carbon dioxide would dissolve calcite, with the combined effect of mobilizing metals. The result could be unfortunate for nearby well owners and would lessen energy efficiency. And CAES is definitely not something to try around a deep waste injection well that has previously accepted volatile hazardous wastes. CAES technology, in otherwords, is suitable for locations where natural underground vaults, essentially places where groundwater can be put under pressure and not flow outward due to that pressure, already exist and have not been contaminated. Having said that, this is a pretty cool innovation. For once Iowa beats Minnesota More >
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4 Jan 2006 @ 03:10
Architecture2030.org: New Website about Sustainability
January 3, 2006 04:34 PM - Lloyd Alter, Toronto
We were perhaps less than charitable when the AIA announced its call for a 50% reduction in fossil fuel use- after all, it is primarily a group of volunteer architects working to improve their profession and the work that is produced by it. Similar initiatives are being started by others as well- Architecture2030.org is a new website started by Edward Mazria, a Santa Fe architect who wrote the Passive Solar Energy Book. He teaches, and is taking a slightly longer term approach: "in our professional architecture and planning schools, we should require the establishment of a mandatory, full-year, innovative, studio-based program which promotes creative problem-solving relevant to climate change—one which incorporates a deep understanding of the relationship between nature and design in all core courses."- most architects know very little about sustainability and you have to get'em while they're young. Great choices in case studies, good resource lists, we wish them well.
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4 Jan 2006 @ 03:08
India Stopping Theft of Ancient Knowledge
[link]
By Gavin Rabinowitz
The Associated Press
Saturday 24 December 2005
Protection: The nation is building a database of indigenous knowledge to keep entrepreneurs from making a profit from it.
New Delhi - For thousands of years Indian villagers have used an extract from seeds of the neem tree as an insecticide. So when a US company patented a process for producing the substance in 1994, India reacted with outrage.
After spending millions of dollars in legal fees to successfully overturn the patent, India's government now is creating a 30-million-page database of traditional knowledge to fend off entrepreneurs trying to patent the country's ancient lore.
India is not alone in worrying about "bio-prospectors" profiting from the genetic resources of its plant life with no benefit to its people. It joined China, Brazil and nine other nations a few years ago to begin pushing for international protections.
The database project already has caught the interest of others. A South African team recently visited and a Mongolian mission is coming in January, said V.K. Gupta, chairman of India's National Institute for Science Communication and Information Resources.
The database, called the Traditional Knowledge Data Library (TKDL), will make information available to patent offices around the world to ensure that traditional remedies are not presented as new discoveries.
"If societies have been using it for centuries, why should it be patented?" asked Shiv Basant, a senior official at the Health Ministry's Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, India's traditional health and medical disciplines.
The government also has successfully challenged patents on the use of the spice turmeric to heal wounds and rashes and a patent on a rice strain derived from India's famed basmati rice.
But that is a fraction of the problem. A 2003 study by Gupta's institute estimated some 7,000 patents worldwide are based on Indian indigenous knowledge, far too many for India to challenge in expensive legal fights. But officials hope the database will head off future battles.
"If we have all the data in TKDL, we will not have to spend all those millions of dollars," said Ajay Dua of the Commerce Ministry's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
It is difficult for overseas patent office researchers to prove purported innovations are really based on old lore because, while the information is widely published in India, it is often in ancient languages like Sanskrit or modern regional languages like Tamil.
Gupta convened a group of 150 experts in traditional medicine, scientists, doctors, patent lawyers and computer programmers to put together the database of traditional knowledge.
Instead of laboriously translating the manuscripts, the scholars structured the texts into classifications widely used by patent examiners. The texts are then entered in the database, where specially developed software translates them into Hindi, English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish.
More than 10 million pages already have been loaded into the system and 20 million more will be available by the end of 2006, Gupta said.
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4 Jan 2006 @ 03:06
Cash-Strapped Schools Turn School Buses into Corporate Billboards
December 27th, 2005
Advertisers Catch the School Bus
By Emily Bazar
USA Today
School districts desperate to plug budget holes are turning their buses into
billboards for soft drinks, credit unions and car dealerships.
Advertisements have popped up on buses in Arizona and Massachusetts. New
ones are set to appear in Michigan and Colorado.
Dozens more districts from Florida to Pennsylvania may join them.
"This will spread across the nation, because there's so much money that will
come into schools as a result of doing this," says Daniel Shearer, director
of transportation at the Scottsdale Unified School District.
The Arizona city just outside Phoenix began displaying ads on the sides of
its buses last December. Advertisers include real estate agencies, a local
toy store and an ambulance company. The district anticipates the ads will
bring in $300,000 this year and up to $900,000 in a few years.
Children 'for sale'?
But some consumer groups and parents are alarmed. They say America's
children < already bombarded by ads < shouldn't become captive audiences on
their way to and from school.
"It teaches children that ... they're for sale," says Gary Ruskin, executive
director of the consumer group Commercial Alert. "They're just a bunch of
sardines packed in a bus being sold to an advertiser."
Read More More >
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4 Jan 2006 @ 03:04
Press Release by: Organic World Online
Published on openPR 12-19-2005 01:13 pm - CET
(openPR) - Recently OrganicWorldOnline launched its new website,
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com, featuring services for finding articles,
resources information and news relevant to organic and organic-related
products and services via the internet.
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com is a new resource site for organic and
organic-related products and services. You'll find all the resources needed
to assist with understanding, living and enjoying an organic lifestyle.
Organic promotes and enhances ecological harmony, using materials and
products that minimize pollution from air, soil and water. Organic
agriculture protects the health of people and the planet by reducing the
overall exposure to toxic chemicals from synthetic pesticides that can end
up in the ground, air, water and food supply, and that are associated with
health consequences of all living things, in particular people, from any
health disorder. By using organic products, people can protect themselves
from the toxins of pesticides.
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com will assist in the search for organic and
organic-related products and services. Whether the organic interest be in
helping to save the environment, healthy eating, home and garden, skin care
or more you will find resources and information to assist you with the
knowledge of living an organic lifestyle as well has how and where to
purchase what you desire.
OrganicWorldOnline offers quick and easy access to the resources, products
and services needed to assist you with your organic lifestyle.
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com offers resources, news and information for
organic and organic-related products and services.
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com goal is to offer fast and easy access to news,
resources and information about organic and organic-related products and
services on the internet.
About OrganicWorldOnline: OrganicWorldOnline promotes fast and easy
references and resources for organic and organic-related products and
services. OrganicWorldOnline can be contacted through its website at
www.OrganicWorldOnline.com More >
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4 Jan 2006 @ 03:01
Organics Booming: 65% of Americans Tried Organic Foods in 2005
Americans Consuming More Organics than Ever: Whole Foods Survey
NOVEMBER 21, 2005 -- AUSTIN, Texas -- The number of Americans who've tried
organic foods has jumped to 65 percent in 2005, compared to 54 percent in
2003 and 2004, and a quarter of 1,000 people responding to a survey said
they're consuming organics more than they did a year ago, said Whole Foods
Market here.
According to an annual survey released on Friday by Whole Foods here, 10
percent of respondents said they consume organic foods several times per
week, up from just seven percent last year.
The 2005 Whole Foods Market Organic Trend Tracker found that Americans are
buying organic foods and beverages for a variety of reasons. The top three
are: avoidance of pesticides (70.3 percent), freshness (68.3 percent), and
health and nutrition (67.1 percent). More than half (55 percent) buy organic
to avoid genetically modified foods. Also, more than half of all respondents
agreed that organic foods and beverages are "better for my health" (52.8
percent) and better for the environment (52.4 percent).
"Organic foods continue to move into the mainstream, and more Americans are
choosing organic foods as part of a lifestyle aimed at wellness," said
Margaret Wittenberg, v.p. of communications and quality standards at Whole
Foods and a former member of the USDA's National Organic Standards Board.
"It's long been acknowledged that organic food is a better choice for the
environment, and we applaud organizations like The Organic Center who are
working to more clearly define how organics are better and more nutritious
for our bodies through long-term and meaningful scientific studies."
The survey unveiled significantly higher taste and quality ratings from
Americans who regularly consume organic foods and beverages. Fresh fruits
and vegetables remains overwhelmingly the most frequently purchased category
of organic foods at 73 percent. Produce is followed by non-dairy beverages
(32 percent), bread or baked goods (32 percent), dairy items (24.6 percent),
packaged goods such as soup or pasta (22.2 percent), meat (22.2 percent),
snack foods (22.1 percent), frozen foods (16.6 percent), prepared and
ready-to-eat meals (12.2 percent), and baby food (3.2 percent).
One quarter of respondents said they purchase organic foods at natural foods
supermarkets, while 18 percent shop for organics at farmer's markets.
The main barrier to purchasing continues to be price; almost three-quarters
(74.6 percent) of respondents said the price of organic food and beverages
is the main reason for not consuming more. Other reasons Americans are not
consuming more organics, according to the survey, include: availability
(46.1 percent) and loyalty to non-organic brands (36.7 percent).
The Whole Foods survey of 1,000 Americans, now in its fourth year, was
conducted by Equat!on Research in August 2005 and is representative of the
United States adult population.
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| Saturday, December 24, 2005 | |
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24 Dec 2005 @ 00:43
Chocolate's Dark Side - No Jokes
By Robert Cohen
NotMilk.com
12-23-5
Cow's milk naturally contains an addictive opiate (similar to morphine) called casomorphin, and that is not a joke.
For many children, the consumption of milk and dairy opiates translates into attention deficit disorder, and that too is no joke.
Four pounds of milk are required to manufacture one pound of milk-chocolate, and for vegan milk-chocolate addicts, that is not a joke.
Most of the chocolate eaten in America comes from beans grown in Ivory Coast, where children are kidnapped from neighboring countries to live in slavery on abusive plantations, and that is also no joke.
If you support the chocolate industry by eating their product, you have complicity in the most immoral and unethical crime of the twenty-first century, and you area a part of the problem, and that is no joke either.
When it comes to the ethics of slavery and chocolate, Hersehy's and Nestles Chocolate Company's position is that Ivory Coast is a sovereign nation, and they will continue to buy their chocolate because they do not want to do damage to Ivory Coast's economic system.
Men and women of conscience must be one on this issue. An economic system based upon child slavery is not worth saving.
On today's very special eve in which "Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men" reverberates, take a moment to consider that little boy or girl who cries in despair and torment in a world that makes no sense. Consider that child the next time you are tempted to purchase milk chocolate products.
Unless the label on a chocolate product informs you that the contents are grown elsewhere, assume that each bite supports slavery.
A man named Che once wrote:
"If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine."
Please do the right thing, and become part of the solution.
Robert Cohen
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Sounding Circle implies the cycles, spirals and symbols of our thought, our culture, our lineage and our imagination.
A place to share ideas, create community, and give voice to our muse.
"Giving more than we take, taking just what we need."
"The universe is music connecting 10th dimensional hyperspace".
Prof. Michio Kaku, Phd. |
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"It's not what you think, it's what you think about."
- lyric from You Can't Turn Back (But You Can Turn Back On) |
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Sounding Circle
