Burning Wood May Do More Harm Than Good

By Sami Grover

Of all the sources of renewable energy, one type invariably dredges up more debate than any other-biomass. Granted, the term biomass does cover a lot of topics and a lot of different controversies-from food versus fuel to the unintended consequences of anaerobic digestion. But perhaps the most enduring of all the biomass conundrums is this one-to burn wood or not to burn wood. Now Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Movement, is igniting the debate once more. And he's rethinking the installation of a stove at his house.

This isn't a new topic here on TreeHugger. Daniel has already written about one study claiming that burning biomass may be worse than coal (although this was hotly disputed by the biomass energy industry), and John has written about the astounding amount of wood it takes to heat a home. But in general it's long been somewhat assumed by most greens that burning wood to heat your home, as long as you do it efficiently, has got to be greener than using fossil fuels. After all, trees are only releasing the carbon that they absorb when they grow-so the net input of CO2 into the atmosphere is negligible. Right?

Sadly, assumptions can be a dangerous thing. Rob Hopkins, who I previously interviewed about the birth of the Transition Movement, reports that he had only been weeks away from installing a wood burning stove on his home in Totnes, in the South West of England when he read a study published by the Association for Environmentally Conscious Builders called Biomass: A Burning Issue.

In it, the studies authors (Nick Grant and Alan Clarke, both of whom heat their homes with wood) set out to explore whether wood can really be considered a sensible, sustainable approach to heating homes. Among their findings are that while wood does indeed only release CO2 that it has recently sequestered, "recently" is still a relative term. Pointing out that we need to cut CO2 emissions now, not in 30 years, the authors argue that burning wood directly undermines more beneficial uses for it that keep that carbon locked up for centuries-whether that be building with it, making furniture, or presumably even burying it in the ground. Instead, they argue, we would be better placed burning natural gas efficiently, and letting our woodlands act as a buffer to absorb the carbon that is released.

Scrambled Eggs: Report Spotlights "Systemic" Abuses in Organic Egg Production

Family Farmers Face Unfair Competition from "Organic" Factory Farms

Straight to the Source

CORNUCOPIA, WI - An independent report has been released that focuses on widespread abuses in organic egg production, primarily by large industrial agribusinesses. The study profiles the exemplary management practices employed by many family-scale organic farmers engaged in egg production, while spotlighting abuses at so-called factory farms, some confining hundreds of thousands of chickens in industrial facilities, and representing these eggs to consumers as "organic."

The report will be formally presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the October meeting of the National Organic Standards Board in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group, developed the report, Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production from Authentic Organic Agriculture, following nearly two years of research into organic egg production. The report also contains a scorecard rating various egg brands on how their eggs are produced in accordance with federal organic standards and consumer expectations.

"After visiting over 15% of the certified egg farms in the United States, and surveying all name-brand and private-label industry marketers, it's obvious that a high percentage of the eggs on the market should be labeled 'produced with organic feed' rather than bearing the USDA-certified organic logo," said Mark A. Kastel, The Cornucopia Institute's codirector and senior farm policy analyst.

According to the United Egg Producers (UEP), the industry lobby group, 80 percent of all organic eggs are produced by just a handful of its largest members. Most of these operations own hundreds of thousands, or even millions of birds, and have diversified into "specialty eggs," which include organic. At least one UEP member, Hillandale Farms, has been implicated in the recent nationwide salmonella outbreak affecting conventional eggs.

Cornucopia's report focuses not on the size of some of these mammoth agribusinesses but rather on their organic livestock management practices. It says that most of these giant henhouses, some holding 85,000 birds or more, provide no legitimate access to the outdoors, as required in the federal organic regulations.

The new report comes at a critical juncture for the organic poultry industry. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the expert citizen advisory panel set up by Congress to advise the USDA on organic policy, has been debating a set of proposed new regulations for poultry and other livestock that would establish housing-density standards and a clearer understanding of what the requirement for outdoor access truly means. The industry's largest operators, along with their lobbyists, have been loudly voicing their opposition to requirements for outdoor space.

"Many of these operators are gaming the system by providing minute enclosed porches, with roofs and concrete or wood flooring, and calling these structures 'the outdoors,'" stated Charlotte Vallaeys, a farm policy analyst with Cornucopia and lead author of the report. "Many of the porches represent just 3 to 5 percent of the square footage of the main building housing the birds. That means 95 percent or more of the birds have absolutely no access whatsoever."

"If one animal has the legal right to be outdoors, then all animals have the same right, whether they choose to take turns or if they all choose to be outside at the same time," said Jim Riddle, organic outreach coordinator with the University of Minnesota and former chairman of the NOSB.

At previous meetings of the NOSB, United Egg Producers represented industrial-scale producers and publicly opposed proposals to strengthen regulations requiring outdoor access.

"We are strongly opposed to any requirement for hens to have access to the soil," said Kurt Kreher of Kreher's Sunrise Farms in Clarence, N.Y. And Bart Slaugh, director of quality assurance at Eggland's Best, a marketer of both conventional and organic eggs based in Jeffersonville, Pa., noted that, "The push for continually expanding outdoor access   needs to stop."

Family-scale organic egg farmers, and their allies, intend to challenge corporate agribusiness lobbyists and make their voices heard at the October 25 meeting of the NOSB.

China moving heaven and Earth to bring water to Beijing

By Barbara Demick
Los Angeles Times
Straight to the Source

It might be the most ambitious construction project in China since the Great Wall.

The Chinese government is planning to reroute the nation's water supply, bringing water from the flood plains of the south and the snowcapped mountains of the west to the parched capital of Beijing. First envisioned by Mao Tse-tung in the 1950s and now coming to fruition, the South-North Water Diversion - as it is inelegantly known in English - has a price tag of more than $62 billion, twice as expensive as the famous Three Gorges Dam. It is expected to take decades to complete.

"This is on a par with the Great Wall, a project essential for the survival of China," said Wang Shushan, who heads the project in Henan province, where much of the construction is now taking place. "It is a must-do project. We can't afford to wait."

Even by the standards of a country where moving heaven and Earth is all in a day's work, it is a project of enormous hubris. In effect, the Chinese are "replumbing" the entire country, says Orville Schell, a China scholar and an environmentalist, something "no country has ever done successfully in the past."

China is plagued by extreme weather. Vast river deltas in the south are inundated each year by deadly flooding, while the steppes of the north are swept by sandstorms. To remedy this, the engineers are creating a vast, hydra-like network of canals, tunnels and aqueducts that will extend thousands of miles across the country.

Health Supplements, Antioxidants and the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration understands that people may not eat properly. That is why they have listed recommendations for consumers about health supplements – and specifically those with antioxidant properties. The simple fact is the human body cannot work properly without antioxidants. The FDA acknowledges that a lack of antioxidants in a person's diet is detrimental to their health. They also recognize that health supplements are coming to the aid of many people.  

Most people -- even those who eat healthy -- do not consume the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals they need on a daily basis. When the human body lacks the proper nutrients that include antioxidants (foods that contain vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and selenium) the immune system is not as strong as it should be. This means that common illnesses and even serious diseases can arise.

Antioxidants are a protection from free radicals. Free radicals should be thought of as dangerous, deformed enemies who are out to hurt us. Actually, free radicals are mutated oxygen molecules. They are “mutated” by pollution, sun and other hazards. When free radicals are allowed to run free inside the human body, they will attach to cell walls and start to change the cell. Changes in the cells can bring on early aging and even cancer.

It should be noted that nothing will ever take the place of whole foods. However, the simple fact remains that in today's world of processed foods, adding a health supplement such as Alveo to your diet is the only sure way to ensure that you have a ready supply of antioxidants available to fight off disease and signs of early aging.  

Only in recent years has the importance of antioxidants been relayed to the general lay person. Education by cancer and disease organizations has prompted many to purchase health supplements for themselves and their families. People are coming to understand that if they take in enough antioxidant though healthy eating and health supplements, their bodies will have a strong defense system in place.

The fact that antioxidants slow down the aging process is the added benefit. Doesn't it just make sense to make sure you are getting all of the nutrients you need?

Detoxify Your Way To Health And Beauty

How many times have your brain felt so sluggish that you can't even think clearly? How many times have you felt so tired that even climbing a single flight of stairs takes a lot from you? Or how about those times when you felt so unpretty that even your best outfit can't lift your mood? You've tried every known trick to stay fit and scoured every shelf in the health and beauty aisle for that wonder product that could revive you but still to no avail. Why not try looking at home and the produce section of your grocery? What am I talking about? I'm talking about detox.

Detoxification is not merely sweating buckets on the gym or starving yourself with a water diet. It is a holistic approach to health and beauty. It encompasses everything from diet, fitness, and your sense of well-being. Try it for a weekend and start the new week with a renewed and more revived you. Detoxifying your way to health and beauty is possible with a few things which you could conveniently find in your home. With a loofah or brush, scented candles, aromatic oils, herbal tea, and a free, me-time weekend, you're all set to rejuvenate and renew yourself.

Start on a Friday by eating light (think salads and fruits) and drink lots of water the whole day. At night, slowly dry-massage yourself with a loofah or brush with slow and long strokes. Move in one direction: upward and towards your groin. Refresh yourself with tea or water then soak in a bath of warm water and drops of aromatic bath oil. Light some scented candles while gradually adding cool water within a half hour until your bath becomes slightly cold. This is the beginning of your new health and beauty routine. This process is done for the stimulation of the blood vessels. Dry yourself and dress warmly for bed. You can use detox foot patch. It’s naturally cleanse while you sleep.

Begin the next day by drinking hot lemon water. Go for a walk while breathing deeply. Give yourself a steam bath or go swimming. You could also ask your partner or therapist for a massage. Again, end your health and beauty detox regimen with a dry-massage brush and bath. Spend your Sunday, doing the whole process but add another activity. Make a list of people or things, such as your work, that are toxic to you (read: bad vibes). Assess how you should deal with them to lessen their toxic effect. After this, pamper yourself or do meditation exercises.

Be reminded though that you may experience excessive sweating, slight headaches, and skin rashes. These are signs that your body is releasing toxins and that they are temporary. Detoxifying is effective, safe, and inexpensive enough to be part of your weekly health and beauty routine. Just remember to avoid this during your period, pregnancy, and sickness. Lastly, talk to your doctor if you encounter any problem while detoxifying.

Dangers And Solutions To Emotional Eating

Food is a source of nourishment and energy. Without food we would not be able to perform our daily activities. Our muscles would wither, our nervous system would fail. So, we all need food.

However, food also has another role in our lives - a role of comfort and entertainment. Culturally and instinctively we prepare and serve foods to comfort those who have experienced loss, to celebrate joy or to show friendship and love.

So what exactly is emotional eating?

Seeing food as more than just a source of energy and enjoying it simply for the satisfaction it gives is not wrong. In fact science shows that food can promote good feelings by chemical reactions caused in our brains.

What IS a problem is when an individual cannot experience pain, anxiety, joy or even boredom without turning to food as means of dealing with those feelings, or they are obsessed with food, weight and dieting.

Emotional eaters turn to food as a source of distraction from dealing with feelings. However, eating these foods leads to feelings of guilt which can only be soothed with more eating, restrictive dieting, excessive exercise or purging.

Emotional eaters tend to value themselves based on their weight and how closely they've stuck to their 'ideal' diet. Because of this distorted relationship with food, foods are labeled "GOOD" and "BAD". Emotional eating can also lead to serious eating disorders and depression.

- How to tell if you're an emotional eater.

Do you turn to food for reasons other than hunger? Are you obsessed with thoughts of food - whether you plan to eat it or are concentrating on restricting yourself from eating it?

Do you regularly try diets and fail - leading to guilt and further over eating? Do you think about or attempt to purge excess food by throwing up or using laxatives? Do you exercise compulsively when you think you've eaten too much?

If you can answer "YES" to any of the above questions then you may in fact be engaging in this dangerous habit.

- Overcoming emotional eating.

Since emotional eating is caused by looking to food as a coping strategy for emotional distress dieting can actually create more problems.

When the emotional eater fails to stick to a diet they suffer feelings of guilt that can only be soothed with more food and in turn, more guilt or punishment.

Instead of trying to focus on what they are eating, the emotional eater needs to learn new skills for coping with stressful emotions. Often this requires the help of a Personal Coach or Therapist who deals with emotional eating.

It is only by finding replacements for the comfort food provided that the individual can put food into its rightful place and learn healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.

Heart supplements that will energize your body and reduce the side effects of statin drugs

If your “get up and go got up and went” these heart supplements are just what you’ve been looking for. If you are taking any of the statin family of drugs such as Lipitor, Zocor or Crestor to lower your cholesterol you should not be without CoQ10. These drugs can literally “kill” synthesis of CoQ10.

New clinical research
You might say this study included a little monkey business. The subjects were thirteen male and eight female baboons. These primates were fed a variety of diets that were supplemented with different amounts of vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).

The purpose of the research was to measure the effectiveness of CoQ10 and vitamin E in reducing inflammation in the body. The inflammation was measured by conducting a simple blood test of C-reactive protein (CRP).

A New England Journal of Medicine studies showed that people with high levels of C-reactive protein were almost three times as likely to die from a heart attack.

When CRP levels were analyzed, vitamin E was found to lower levels of inflammation to an average of less than half of pre-supplementation levels. When coenzyme Q10 was added to vitamin E, CRP levels revealed a whopping seventy percent reduction in inflammation.

In the discussion of their findings, the researchers called the results “remarkable.” They concluded that “co-supplementation with vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 significantly enhanced both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant protection.”

Important heart attack risks
Why is this so important? Inflammation and oxidation are two of the most important risks leading to a heart attack or stroke. The latest research indicates that these risks are far more dangerous than high cholesterol.

Big words for a big problem
A high level of CRP in your blood indicates an increased risk for what your cardiologist describes as “destabilized atherosclerotic plaque.” These are big words for a big problem.

Interpreted in laymen’s language, when arterial plaque becomes destabilized, it can burst open and block the flow of blood through a coronary artery, resulting in an acute heart attack. And a heart attack isn’t as much fun as you might think.


"CoQ10, is energy on call," says, Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a board certified cardiologist at the New England Heart and Longevity Center. “I have long considered CoQ10 a wonder nutrient because of its ability to support heart health.”

In addition to energizing your heart, these heart supplements have also been shown to support the immune system, blood pressure and healthy cholesterol levels.

More than 100 clinical studies at major universities and hospitals have documented the actions of Coenzyme Q10 and now new studies have researchers heaping more praise on this heart vitamin.

Women with breast cancer and non-cancerous breast lesions commonly have low blood levels of CoQ10. Although more studies are needed, Danish researcher Knud Lockwood, M.D. has had good results using high doses of CoQ10 to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in women.

Chronic inflammation is also an underlying cause of many age-related diseases. A fact that until recently has been given very little attention by the medical establishment.

CoQ10 is a notoriously bulky nutrient that's quite hard for your body to absorb. When shopping for these heart supplements look for a product that has been tested for maximum bioavailability and also has the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)seal on the bottle. There are a few good brands on the web and a lot that are not what they seem to be.

Do your heart…and the rest of your body a favor by getting acquainted with these multi talented heart supplements. Be careful though…a burst of energy might have your friends wondering what’s going on in your life.