I'm working on a few deeper issues for some upcoming blogs but in the meantime, here are some continuing story follow-ups as well as some interesting things to read:
Is Organic Food Really Healthier?
"In the late 1990s, researcher Anne-Marie Mayer looked at data gathered by the British government from the 1930s to the 1980s on the mineral contents of 20 raw fruits and vegetables. She found that levels of calcium, magnesium, copper, and sodium in vegetables, and of magnesium, iron, copper, and potassium in fruit had dropped significantly."
"....researchers at the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania were seeing a tradeoff between use of synthetic fertilizers and food nutrient values in the Institute's Farming System Trial (FST). The FST is the longest-running side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional farming systems in the US."
Pope Ignores the War, Gets Free Pass on Sex Abuse
"While still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- the Vatican office that once ran the Inquisition. In that capacity he sent a letter in May 2001 to all Catholic bishops throwing a curtain of secrecy over the widespread sexual abuse by clergy, warning the bishops of severe penalties, including excommunication for breaching "pontifical secrets."
"Lawyers acting for the sexually abused accused Ratzinger of "clear obstruction of justice."
"Very few American bishops have been disciplined. And when Bernard Cardinal Law was run out of Boston for failing to protect children from predator priests, he was given a cushy sinecure in Rome; many believe he should be behind bars.
"In an interview with the Catholic News Service in 2002, Ratzinger branded media coverage of the pedophilia scandal "a planned campaign ... intentional, manipulated, a desire to discredit the church."
"It is nice that the Pope has now changed his tune. Nicer still for him, he found himself mostly in the congenial atmosphere of Washington, where very few powerful miscreants are held accountable."
Climate Change May Put 'World at War': "Climate change could cause global conflicts as large as the two world wars but lasting for centuries unless the problem is controlled, a leading defence think tank has warned."
It's not "save the planet" or "save the Earth" or even "save the climate;" it's Save Humanity. Really. The planet, the Earth, the climate - they will all go on without us. It's ourselves we should really be worried about.
Arctic Ice Melting Fast in Summer Sun: Ummm...see above. "New Arctic sea ice is now so perilously thin on average that it melts under the sunshine of clear summer skies it once could survive, American researchers conclude in a study published today."
One would think that the "greatest country in the world" wouldn't have this problem: " For the first time since the Spanish influenza of 1918, life expectancy is falling for a significant number of American women." What with our bridges collapsing, high infant mortality rates, being the biggest spender on missiles, guns, and bombs, invading sovereign nations, and lacking health care for its citizens...maybe we aren't so "great" after all?
This is a good blog-summary of a lot of things I've been talking about lately.
Pssst....Do Something!
You and me, the American citizen and taxpayer, (aka: the U.S. Government) shouldn't be giving money to bail out airlines or give huge subsidies to oil companies. No. Give that money to people who are really doing something to help our society, like this man, the Segway inventor who just invented a water regenerator.
