GLOBAL WARMING

What is global warming?

Global warming is the process of the earth’s atmosphere heating up. (The atmosphere is the air that covers our planet like a blanket.) Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up 10 Fahrenheit. The weather has not changed exactly the same way in every area of the planet. But, scientists think that the rise in average temperature is already affecting the earth’s climate.

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Weather is the word that describes conditions in the atmosphere (such as temperature, precipitation, wind and cloudiness) at a specific time for a specific place. For example, when someone asks, “What’s the weather like outside?” he or she wants to know what is going on in a certain area at that moment.

Climate is what you get when you summarize the weather for a long period of time. For example, even though California might have rainy weather one day, its average weather over the entire year is still dry and mild. Scientists who study global warming look at the big picture. They look at how rising temperatures will affect the earth’s climate.

What causes global warming?

Many scientists now believe that global warming is caused by human activities. Cutting down trees, producing more trash, and polluting the environment are some of the reasons that the temperature has gone up. Many scientists believe that the biggest causes of global warming are new human technologies that release green house gases into the atmosphere.

What are greenhouse gases and what is the greenhouse effect?

Certain gases in the atmosphere prevent heat energy from escaping back into space. These gases-like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane-are called greenhouse gases because they keep the earth warm like a greenhouse. The system of trapping the heat in our atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect.

Why are greenhouse gases a problem today?

The greenhouse effect is not new. Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane have been keeping the earth warm for millions of years. In the past, nature produced just the right amount of greenhouse gases to keep earth at a balanced temperature.

Today, most scientists are pretty sure that the rising temperature can’t be blamed on nature. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 1700s, humans have relied on machines for daily life. And many of those machines (like cars) give off, or emit, a lot of greenhouse gases. An increase in the release of greenhouse gases from human activities is throwing nature off balance.

How is global warming affecting the world?

The climate is a very complicated thing, but many scientists agree that the rising atmospheric temperature has already damaged the environment. Sheets of ice, called glaciers, are melting in Antarctica and other parts of the globe. As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans, they are adding warm water to the oceans and causing the sea level to rise.

Over the last 100 years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches around the world. That means that land along the coasts is beginning to disappear under water. Bigger and warmer oceans are also adding to other weather problems caused by pollution in the atmosphere. Some places have received more rain, others have had bigger storms and a few areas in the world have experienced unusual droughts.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol is an energy agreement that was created in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. Centuries who signed the agreement promised to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases they produced (or emitted) each year. These countries made laws or other rules to make sure that their businesses did have as much greenhouse gas emissions.

One hundred and forty countries signed the Kyoto Protocol and it went into action in February 2005. The U.S. did not agree to the Kyoto Protocol, even though America emits more greenhouse gases than any other country in the world. President Bush did not sign the Kyoto Protocol. He was worried the agreement would hurt businesses and ruin the U.S. economy.

What are we doing about global warming?

Many countries have taken action to support research into global warming. The U.S., China, India, Japan, South Korea and Australia have agreed to join together and support each other on this kind of research. They hope that the partnership will result in finding new technologies that do not emit greenhouse gases.

From magazine "MEERA"

15 WAYS TV HURTS KIDS

A review of 35 academic studies by Dr Aric Sigman of the British Psychological Society has revealed the top 15 ways in which long hours before the telly can affect children’s health as they grow.

1. Obesity : a result of little exercise.

2. Disrupted hormones :light from televisions suppresses production of the key hormone melatonin.

3. Lowered immune system : reduced melatonin may increase the chance of mutations in cell DNA, which causes cancer.

4. Premature puberty : also linked to low levels of melatonin.

5. Sleep disorders : over-stimulating the senses causes sleeplessness.

6. Autism : linked to a lack of social interaction.

7. Increased body fat : altered levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin produce fat and boost appetite.

8. Poor concentration : development of brain cells governing attention span is impaired.

9. Difficulty in reading : a result of poor intellectual stimulation while young.

10. Type 2 diabetes : from eating high-calorie food while watching television.

11. Changes to skin immune cells : waves emitted by sets are linked to changes in skin ‘mast’ cells.

12. Increased cholesterol : a result of an inactive childhood.

13. Slower metabolism : watching TV may slow metabolism more than simply doing nothing.

14. Shortsightedness : staring at a screen can lead to eye damage.

15. Alzheimer’s Disease : additional daily hour of viewing increases Alzheimer’s risk.

Source : ANI; HT Graphic : Sebastian

SLEEP IMPROVES MEMORY

If you’ve got a big test coming up, it might be a bad idea to study all night, as scientists have found a good night’s sleep improves your memory.

A team found that people could remeSlmber the things a list of words had in common better after a snooze than after spending the same time awake.

“Sleep helps us extract rules from our experiences,” said Bob Stickgold, the head of the research. He added that sleep helps us to understand information as well as just remembering facts.

In one of his tests, people were shown cards with symbols on them, followed by weather reports.

For example, diamond shapes would come before rain most of the time.

Twelve hours after training, people were asked to guess the weather from the symbols. After sleeping, their predictions were 10% better.

ALARMING WORLD POPULATION

People have lived in the world for millions of years. Today, 6.4 billion people live on the earth. The world’s population grows by 100 million each year. Some 950 million people in the world are malnourished. There are 106 boys born for every 100 girls. The average male adult is 5’9’’ tall and weighs 155 pounds. The average female adult is 5’3’’ tall and weighs 125 pounds.

Health and Nutrition

Control Your Cravings to lose weight

You can lose weight by overcoming your cravings now. Here are the latest tricks of the trade from researchers and experts:

Avoid your triggers “You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you’re eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones,” says food- cravings researcher Marcia Pelchat. This can happen pretty fast. For five days, her study volunteers drank bland dietary-supplement beverages. During that time, they craved fewer of their trigger foods. By the end of the study, the volunteers actually wanted the supplements instead. The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can’t completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them. In fact, you’ll probably begin to crave the foods you ear, a real bonus if you’ve switched to fresh fruit.

Destroy temptation If you’ve succumbed to a craving and bought a box of chocolates or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. “Don’t just throw it away; run water over it, ruin it. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that you’ve licked your binge,” says nutrition and weight management expert Caroline Apovian. Or simply give it away. Don’t think about the money you’re wasting. It the chocolates don’t go away, they’re going straight to your hips.

Go nut Drink two glasses of water and eat 25 grams of nuts (six walnuts, 12 almonds or 20 peanuts). Within 20 minutes, this can extinguish your craving and dampen your appetite by changing your body chemistry, says medical columnist Michael F. Roizen, MD.

Jolt yourself with coffee Try sipping a coffee with skimmed milk instead of reaching for a chocolate bar. The caffeine it contains won’t necessarily satisfy your cravings, but it can save you the calories by quenching your appetite, says Dr Roizen. And the warm richness and ritual can distract you.

Let it go Since stress is a huge trigger for cravings, learning to deal with it could potentially save you hundreds of calories a day. This will take some practice. You can try deep breathing or visualizing a serene scene on your own.

Take a power nap Cravings sneak up when we’re tired. Focus on the fatigue: Shut the door, close your eyes, re-energize.

Get minty fresh Brush your teeth; gargle with mouthwash. “When you have a fresh, clean mouth, you don’t want to mess it up,” says dietitian Molly Gee.

Distract yourself If only ice cream will do, it’s a craving, not hunger. “Cravings typically last ten minutes,” says John Foreyt, an expert in obesity, dieting and behaviour. Recognize that and divert your mind: Call someone, listen to music, run an errand, meditate or exercise.

Indulge yourself–within limits Once in a while, it’s OK to go ahead and have that ice cream. But buy a small cone. Try smaller packs of biscuits or peanuts. The trick is to buy only one pack at a time so you won’t be tempted to reach for more. And since even a little can sabotage weight loss if you indulge daily, strike a bargain with yourself to work off the excess calories. A brisk 15 minute walk will burn 100 calories or so.

Plan or avoid Vary your usual routine to avoid passing the bakery of pizzeria. If you know you’ll be face-to-face with irresistible birthday cake, allocate enough calories to fit it into your diet.

From Reader’s digest

SECRETS TO A LONG LIFE

FINDINGS FROM the new England Centenarian study in Boston suggest that longevity does run in families–the sibling of a centenarian if four times more likely to live past 90 than the general population.

But good genes are just part of the story.

Research from this study and others suggests that lifestyle habits play a huge role in keeping the body and mind in top shape well into the eighth and ninth decade of life.

Researchers found that many of the super-agers had lived past 90 without the disabling symptoms of heart disease, diabetes or Alzheimer’s. Of course, researchers offer no guarantee that people who make lifestyple changes will live to 100.

Genes and the following

Lose weight :  Extra weight strains heart and other crucial organs

Learn something new :  Learning new skills or information keeps brain active.

Shape up :  Regular exercise can help prevent or delay a host of diseases.

Reduce stress :  Stress puts people at risk of developing chronic diseases.

Socialize :  Social connections may ward off depression and seem to boost the immune system.

Adopt a can-do attitude :  You will be easily able to face life’s setbacks.

Eat a healthy diet :  Fruits and veggies contain protective substances that might help ward off many diseases.

Get a good night’s sleep :  Sleep deprivation can lead to memory lapses, depression and immune system problems.

Get regular checkups :  Many diseases can be treated or prevented if caught early enough.

From US Today

INTELLIGENCE IS LINKED WITH VEGETARIANSIM

Intelligent kids are more likely to be vegetarians as adults, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Recent evidence suggests that vegetarianism may be linked to lower cholesterol levels and a reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might help to explain why children who score higher on IQ tests tend to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease in later life.

The study involved 8,179 men and women aged 30 years whose IQ was tested at age 10 years. Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians, although these differences were not reflected in their annual income.

Higher IQ at the age of 10 years was associated with an increased likelihood of being vegetarian at the age of 30. There was not difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken.

Why must you be a Vegetarian

A lifetime commitment to a vegan or lacto-vegetarian diet is a prerequisite for initiation into the Quan Yin Method. Foods from plant sources and dairy products are permitted on this diet, but all other foods from animal sources including eggs should not be eaten. There are many reasons for this, but the most important comes from the First Precept, which tells us to refrain from taking the life of sentient beings, or “Thou shalt not kill.”

Not killing or otherwise harming other living creatures is of obvious benefit for them. Less obvious is the fact that refraining from harming others is equally advantageous for ourselves. Why? Because of the law of karma. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” When you kill, or cause others to kill for you, in order to satisfy your desire for meat, you incur a karmic debt, and this debt must eventually be repaid.

So, in a very real sense, the keeping of a vegetarian diet is a gift which we give to ourselves. We feel better, the quality of our lives improves as the heaviness of our karmic indebtedness diminishes, and we are offered entrance into new subtle and heavenly realms of inner experience. It is well worth the small price you have to pay!

The spiritual arguments against eating meat are convincing for some people, but there are other compelling reasons for being a vegetarian. All of them are rooted in common sense. They have to do with issues of personal health and nutrition, ecology and the environment, ethics and animal suffering, and world hunger.

Studies of human evolution have shown that our ancestors were vegetarian by nature. The structure of the human body is not suited for eating meat. This was demonstrated in an essay on comparative anatomy by Dr. G.S. Huntingen of Columbia University. He pointed out that carnivores have short small and large intestines. Their large intestine is characteristically very straight and smooth. In contrast, vegetarian animals have both a long small intestine and a long large intestine. Because of the low fiber content and high protein density of meat, the intestines do not require a long time to absorb nutrients; thus, the intestines of carnivores are shorter in length than those of vegetarian animals.

Humans, like other naturally vegetarian animals, have both a long small and large intestine. Together, our intestines are approximately twenty-eight feet (eight and a half meters) in length. The small intestine is folded back on itself many times, and its walls are convoluted, not smooth. Because they are longer than those found in carnivores, the meat we eat stays in our intestines for a longer period of time. Consequently, the meat can putrefy and create toxins. These toxins have been implicated as a cause of colon cancer, and they also increase the burden on the liver, which has the function of getting rid of toxins. This can cause cirrhosis and even cancer of the liver.

Meat contains a lot of urokinase protein and urea, which add to the burden on the kidneys, and can destroy kidney function. There are fourteen grams of urokinase protein in every pound of steak. If living cells are put into liquid urokinase protein, their metabolic function will degenerate. Furthermore, meat lacks cellulose or fiber, and lack of fiber can easily create constipation. It is known that constipation can cause rectal cancer of piles.

The cholesterol and saturated fats in flesh also create cardiovascular disorders. Cardiovascular disorders are the number one leading cause of death in the United States, and now in Formosa.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death. Experiments indicate that the burning and roasting of flesh creates a chemical element (Methylcholanthrene) which is a powerful carcinogen. Mice given this chemical develop cancers, such as bone tumors, cancer of the blood, cancer of the stomach, etc.

Research has shown that infant mice fed by a female mouse having breast cancer will also develop cancer. When human cancer cells were injected into animals, the animals also developed cancer. If the meat which we eat daily comes from animals that originally have such disorders, and we take them into our body, there is a good chance we will also get the diseases.

Most people assume that meat is clean and safe, that there are inspections done at all butcheries. There are far too many cattle, pigs, poultry, etc. killed for sale everyday for each one to actually be examined. It’s very difficult to check whether a piece of meat has cancer in it, let alone check every single animal. Currently, the meat industry just cuts off the head when it has a problem, or cuts off the leg which is diseased. Only the bad parts are removed and the rest is sold.

The famous vegetarian, Dr. J.H. Kellogg said, “When we eat vegetarian food, we don’t have to worry about what kind of disease the food dies of. This makes a joyful meal!”

There is yet another concern. Antibiotics as well as other drugs including steroids and growth hormones are either added to animal feed or injected directly into the animals. It has been reported that people eating these animals will absorb these drugs into their bodies. There is a possibility that antibiotics in meat are diminishing the effectiveness of antibiotics for human use.

There are some people who consider the vegetarian diet not sufficiently nourishing. An American surgical expert, Dr. Miller, practiced medicine for forty years in Formosa. He established a hospital there, where all the meals were vegetarian, for staff members as well as the patients. He said, “The mouse is one kind of animal which can support its life with both a vegetarian and non- vegetarian diet. If two mice are segregated, with one eating flesh and the other vegetarian food, we find that their growth and development are the same, but that the vegetarian mouse lives longer and has greater resistance to disease. Furthermore, when the two mice got sick, the vegetarian mouse recovered quicker.” He then added, “The medicine given to us by modern science has improved greatly, but it can only treat illnesses. Food, however, can sustain our health.” He pointed out that, “Food from plants is a more direct source of nutrition than meat. People eat animals, but the source of nutrition for the animals we eat is plants. The lives of most animals are short, and animals have nearly all the diseases that mankind has. It is very likely that the diseases of mankind come from eating the flesh of diseased animals. So, why don’t people get their nutrition directly from plants?” Dr. Miller suggested that we only need cereals, beans and vegetables to get all the nourishment to maintain good health.

Many people have the idea that animal protein is ‘superior’ to plant protein because the former is considered a complete protein, and the latter is incomplete. The truth is that some plant proteins are complete, and that food combining can create complete proteins out of several incomplete protein foods.

In March 1988 the American Dietetic Association announced that: “It is the position of the ADA that vegetarian diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate when appropriately planned.”

It is often falsely believed that meat eaters are stronger than vegetarians, but an experiment conducted by Professor Irving Fisher of Yale University on 32 vegetarians and 15 meat-eaters showed that vegetarians had more endurance than meat eaters. He had people hold out their arms for as long as possible. The outcome from the test was very clear. Among the 15 meat-eaters, only two persons could hold out their arms for fifteen to thirty minutes; however, among the 32 vegetarians, 22 person held out their arms for fifteen to thirty minutes, 15 persons for over thirty minutes, 9 persons for over one hour, 4 persons for over two hours, and one vegetarian held his arms out for over three hours.

Many long distance track athletes keep a vegetarian diet for the time preceding competitions. Dr. Barbara More, an expert in vegetarian therapy, completed a one hundred and ten mile race in twenty-seven hours and thirty minutes. A woman of fitly-six years of age, she broke all the records held by young men. “I want to be an example to show that people who take a whole vegetarian diet will enjoy a strong body, a clear mind, and a purified life.”

Does the vegetarian get enough protein in his diet? The World Health Organization recommends that 4.5% of daily calories be derived from protein. Wheat has 17% of it’s calories as protein, broccoli has 45% and rice has 8%. It is very easy to have a protein rich diet without eating meat. With the additional benefit of avoiding the many diseases caused by high fat diets such as heart disease and many cancers, vegetarianism is clearly the superior choice.

The relationship between over consumption of meat, and other animal source foods containing high levels of saturated fats, and heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer and strokes has been proven. Other diseases which are often prevented and sometimes cured by a low fat vegetarian diet include: kidney stones, prostate cancer, diabetes, peptic ulcers, gallstones, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, gum disease, acne, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, hypoglycemia, constipation, diverticulosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, ovarian cancer, hemorrhoids, obesity, and asthma.

There is no greater personal health risk than eating meat, aside from smoking.

from the magazine "East and West Series"
Suma Ching Hai

Teens Who Drink Get Into More Trouble

Adolescents, age 12 to 17, who use alcohol are more likely to report behavioral problems, especially aggressive, delinquent and criminal behaviors, according to findings of a new study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The new report, ‘Patterns of Alcohol Use Among Adolescents and Associations with Emotional and Behavioral Problems’, concludes that there is a strong relationship between alcohol use among youth and many emotional and behavioral problems, such as, deliberately fighting, stealing, driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, skipping school, feeling depressed that occurred the past six months.

The study further revealed that adolescent alcohol users–regardless of whether they are heavy, binge, or light drinkers–report they are more likely to use illicit drugs than non-drinkers.

Adolescents who were current heavy drinkers were 16 times more likely than non-drinkers to have used an illicit drug in the past month. Light drinkers were eight times more likely to have used an illicit drug in the past month than non-drinking Adolescents.

A Cry for Help?

“Underage drinking–even so-called light drinking–is dangerous, illegal, and must not be tolerated.” Said SAMHSA Administrator Nelba Chavez, Ph.D. “This study points out that the effects of underage alcohol use extend far beyond ‘drinking and driving.’ Parents need to know that alcohol use can also be a warning sign or a cry for help that something is seriously wrong in a child’s life.”

Dr. Chavez continued, “If parents, counselors, teachers, coaches and other caring adults reach children early enough, they can intervene before troubling behaviors lead to serious emotional disturbances, illicit drug use, school failure, family discord, violence, or even suicide. With 10.4 million current underage drinkers, the magnitude of the problem is clear. Unfortunately, the rate of underage drinking have not changed significantly since 1994.

Other findings in the report include: Adolescents who reported that they drank heavily were four times more likely to commit theft outside the home than non-drinking adolescents; heavy drinkers among 12 to 17 year-olds were three times more likely to report deliberately trying to hurt or kill themselves than the adolescents non-drinkers; and adolescents heavy drinkers were three times more likely to report heaving gotten into a physical fight than non-drinkers.

Trouble Brewing

Analysis of the survey data showed that heavy-drinking adolescents were six times as likely as non-drinkers to report skipping school; and adolescents who drank heavily were three times as likely to report engaging in destruction of property belonging to others than non-drinkers, and five times more likely to report running away from home.

Adolescents in the survey also revealed that heavy drinkers were 7.5 times more likely than non-drinkers to report that they had been arrested and charged with breaking the law. Heavy and binge-drinking adolescents were five times more likely than non-drinkers to say that they had gotten behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.

The study defined heavy drinkers as those who consumed five or more drinks per occasion on five or more days in the previous 30 days; binge drinkers consumed five or more drinks on at least one occasion, but no more than four occasions during the previous 30 days; light drinkers consumed at least one, but fewer than five drinks on any occasion during the previous 30 days; and non-drinkers did not drink alcohol in the previous 30 days.

from the "Internet"

SMALL KIDS, BIG PROBLEM

Doctors and health care professionals warn of a health catastrophe if the fast-increasing number of overweight children is not brought down. The figures are alarming. The Nutrition Foundation of India, which examined 4,300 children of middle and upper middle-class families in Delhi, found 26 percent of them overweight and 3.9 percent, plain obese. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, warns that death rate will shoot up to 33 percent (from the present 9 percent), especially among the young, on account of non-communicable diseases like heart problems caused by obesity.

The situation is the same everywhere–a study by the Subharti Medical College in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, among 1,500 students showed that 9 percent of them were obese. The College of Home Science, Mumbai, has found that more girls are overweight and obese (65 percent) than boys.

In fact, the NFI points out that nearly a third of men and more than half the women in the upper middle class in India are overweight, a figure that can drastically increase if the problem is not tackled in childhood. Nearly 30 percent of all obese adults were obese as children.

“Many believe that hormonal imbalances are the main reason why kids are plump, but that is a very minute percentage,” says M.K. Bhan, Paediatrician at AIIMS. “It’s the lifestyle and the environment one grows up in that matter more. After school, kids used to play out in the field, but today they go for the TV remote control.”

Aggravating the problem is the documented fact that when children watch TV, they snack more, often on unhealthy junk foods that are high in salt and calories and low in fibre. An average Indian does not have much information about nutrition. We equate our health with weight.

This means a double whammy. With more parents working, the already sedentary children (parents in Indian metros feel their children are safer if they stay home and watch TV when the parents are out) are eating the kind of food that adds generously to their adipose tissues. Besides, children whose both parents were obese were more likely to be obese.

It isn’t junk food alone that adds to the lard. “Even in traditional cooking, refined wheat and polished rice have displaced wholegrain as the staple cereal,” says Vandana Luthra, who runs the slimming centre, Vandana Luthra’s Curls and Curves. Even a traditional nutritious delicacy can turn into a fattener: gajar ka halwa is a good source of beta carotene when cooked in milk, but in most sweetmeat stalls, it is now prepared in calorie-rich ghee.

A recent study by doctors at the paediatric department of the Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh, revealed that decreased outdoor activity, prolonged television viewing and family history were all associated with obesity. Dr. S.K. Wagnoo, senior consultant endocrinologist and diabetoligist at Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, says there could also be clinical reasons behind the rising incidence of obesity in India.

“Syndrome X, or dysmetabolic syndrome is more prevalent in Indians than in foreigners. It is a defective gene action, where the body’s insulin action is not adequate and so, adipose tissue is not broken down,” he says. Obesity, he feels, is not a separate entity but a “metabolic component of Syndrome X, comprising diabetes, lipid disorders, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.”

But what is the problem with a little extra flab? The real danger, health care experts say, is that these children can develop a host of deadly diseases later on. “Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and arthritis,” says O.P. Yadav, Cardiac Surgeon at Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital.

Rakhi Thakkar, Paediatrician at the Sitaram Bhartia Institute, says a recent survey showed that 35 percent of Delhi school children have vision problems and 40 percent, dental problems. “These problems are caused by unbalanced diets and excessive addiction to TV and computers,” she says.

And, say doctors, the warning signs are already showing up. “Today there are instances of adolescents with Type II diabetes (a lifestyle disease found in adults),” says Bhan. “More and more teens are developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and conditions preceding diabetes,” says Luthra, who has tailor-made a weight-loss programme for children.

LIFESTYLE MEASURES TO COMBAT OBESITY IN KIDS