Stress is a disease generator and a drag on your fun! Here are 11 ways to ease your stress, from taking B vitamins, to taking a bath and letting your cares melt away. (Natural News)
Eleven Ways to Reduce Stress
Astronaut Technology Could Prevent Elderly Falls
Your grandmother may have something in common with an astronaut. Originally developed to help NASA monitor balance problems in astronauts returning from space, the new “iShoe” insole could help doctors detect balance problems before a catastrophic fall occurs, said the graduate student who developed the technology as an intern at NASA.
Siberian Villages Witness Russian Healthcare Revival
A healthcare revolution is sweeping Russia. Both Russia’s federal and regional governments — enriched by energy and commodity exports over the last decade — have poured money into the country’s healthcare system, which crumbled after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have made improving the health of Russians central to their policies and pledged billions of dollars to boost healthcare.
Paris Eyes Plan for Drivers to Share Electric Cars
The citywide bike-sharing program embraced by Parisians and tourists that started one year ago was so successful that the mayor is proposing a four-wheeled version, using electric cars. The program dubbed Autolib’ will launch in late 2009 or early 2010 with a fleet of 4,000 non-polluting electric cars. (New York Times has the AP story)
Car-sharing is a growing trend in many countries. Businesses like Zipcar flourish as gas prices go up. Zipcar was born in the fall of 1999, when the two founders were sitting in a café, excited about a concept they had seen in Berlin while on vacation. Cars were parked around the city for members to drive by the hour instead of owning their own vehicles.
More Experimental Alzheimer’s Drugs Show Early Promise
“For the first time, an experimental drug shows promise for halting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by taking a new approach: breaking up the protein tangles that clog victims’ brains.”
There is also a new experimental vaccine, explained in the video below, which shows great promise but will be several more years in trials before it reaches the market. (Above AP story at Yahoo)
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Dunkin’ Donuts to Offer Healthier Menu Items
“Looking to entice those hungry for a healthier option, Dunkin’ Donuts will begin offering a new slate of better-for-you offerings in August.” (AP News at Yahoo)
Man, 66, Records 2 Holes-in-1 in Same Round
A 66-year-old Michigan golfer has been swinging at greens for half a century but has never had a hole-in-one. Until last Thursday, when he had two of them – in the same round – beating the odds at 67 million to one. (City News in Toronto)
Every TerraCycle Product is Made From Garbage, Packaged in Garbage
Kraft Foods has joined a list of major corporations, like Coke and Kellogg, to fund the collection of used packaging and consumer leftovers of its own products through a partnership with upstart super-recycler, TerraCycle, Inc.
In 2001, Tom Szaky, a Princeton University Freshman, dropped out of school to become an eco-capitalist founding TerraCycle, a company that turns garbage into useful home products.
“TerraCycle’s eco-friendly products have received a myriad of social and environmental accolades and are sold at major retailers like The Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Markets.”
Last month, Kraft announced its new partnership with TerraCycle that will invest in the collection of packages that are challenging to recycle, like its Capri Sun containers and food bar wrappers, turning them into affordable, high quality bags, spray bottles, shower curtains, umbrellas and other consumer goods.
One of the ways TerraCycle collects the product packaging is by enlisting schools in a fund raising scheme where the “TerraCycle Brigades” earn pennies for every bottle or wrapper collected. Check out their products and fundraising programs online at www.terracycle.com.
Watch this overview of the operations of TerraCycle…
Cat Stuck in a Pipe? Roto-Rooter to the Rescue
A kitten was rescued from his snag inside an outdoor drainage pipe near Cleveland by the plumbing service, Roto-Rooter. Workers used a drain snake with remote camera to locate the animal and worked for 4 hours on recovery. The kitten was adopted on the spot by Larry, one of the rescuers, who says he plans to name the kitten “Roto.”
Well, last week’s rescue, it turns out, is not unusual for the plumbing company. In April another feline distress signal went out from Harrisburg, after firemen suggested calling Roto-Rooter. CBS-21 reported that Bud the cat was underground in the dark for four days until his owner heard a faint meow while she was gardening. Hours later the remote camera caught sight of Bud blinking in front of the tiny light. Check out this video of the six hour rescue.
As Pump Prices Rise, Traffic Deaths Fall
Another silver lining of rising U.S. gas prices may be the sharp decrease in traffic deaths around the country, which mirrors the same declines seen during the Arab oil embargo three decades ago.
BMW Says Mini’s Time has Come: Electrics Due in U.S. Next Year
The U.S. car market may be moving toward Mini’s kind of small, fashionable and fuel-efficient vehicles, and the British brand will be ready as it prepares to launch its first electric vehicles in the United States in 2009 and a small crossover utility vehicle not long after.
Electricity Brightening for State That had Seen Dimming
In the last few years, Connecticut has become a leader in “demand-response,” which provides financial incentives for electricity customers to lower their use during tight supply periods. The state has also promoted conservation and reduced demand to limit the growth in electricity use; set environmental goals to curb emissions; and encouraged the development of renewable energy to better balance its fuel sources. (Full story in Hartford Courant)
Trans Fats Banned in California Restaurant Food
Doctors across the United States commended California which enacted legislation on Friday making it the first U.S. state to prohibit restaurants from preparing food with trans fats, which clog arteries and raise the risk of heart disease.
Indian Army to Help Prevent Rhino Poaching
Authorities in northeastern India have asked the army to help protect endangered one-horned rhinoceroses from poachers and have made the soldiers honorary wildlife wardens, officials said Saturday. (Full story in the Guardian)
New Mexico Researchers Work to Halt Depletion of Native Herb by Encouraging Farmers
“Described by local residents as magical, a native herb called yerba mansa, known as the “the calming herb,” has been used for centuries throughout the Southwest by American Indians and Hispanics for ailments ranging from toothaches to sinus infections. Anticipating the herb’s rising popularity, a researcher has made yerba mansa a viable and desirable agricultural crop for New Mexico’s small farmers, helping to protect the ecologically threatened plant from depletion.” (Chicago Tribune Business section)
Summer Vacation for Kids Includes Helping Neediest Communities in Dallas
As most teenagers spent their summer break at the beach, pool or working at summer jobs, some 240 junior high and high school-age kids were hard at work on a one week-long community service project to spruce up homes and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas. “World Changers,” an initiative for youth of the Southern Baptist Convention, brought the group of workers to several Dallas low-income neighborhoods to paint houses, replace roofs, and provide hope to residents in need.
Inspirational ‘Last Lecture’ Professor Dies (Video)
A Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose ‘last lecture’ about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday at the age of 47, but ‘s inspiring message lives on. (See also the September, 2007 GNN video: Rapidly Dying 47-Year-Old Professor Gives Exuberant ‘Last Lecture’
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Salinas Tries a New Tack in the Fight Against Gangs: Fasting
Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue publicly called for a week of Fasting for Peace in the city as a response to a recent spike in violence. City leaders and clergy are promoting the weeklong effort. Some scoff that fasting couldn’t possibly work, but Donohue said, “The evidence suggests otherwise: Gandhi and Cesar Chavez used it quite effectively.” (Los Angeles Times)
Reviving the Lost Art of US Statesmanship
For more than twelve years, US Amb. Dennis Ross played a leading role in shaping US involvement in the Middle East peace process. Responsible in both the former Bush and Clinton administrations for exploring ways to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he has now put his diplomatic expertise into a recently published book, entitled: Statecraft And How to Restore America’s Standing in the World.
AMBER Alerts on the Decline
Every state but Alaska has issued at least one AMBER Alert — a public announcement of a child abduction using the media, email and traffic signs — since Texas launched the first program in 1997. But the number of alerts has been dropping off, and state officials say that’s not a bad thing.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the number of alerts has declined in the past three years. There were 275 issued nationwide in 2005, falling to 262 in 2006 and 227 in 2007. As of May 31 this year, there were only 74 alerts.