Sam Stein at Huffpo published this impressive list of Obama's under-publicized accomplishments during his first 100 days. Some of these items are truly remarkable. As I reviewed the list of ten items, I kept thinking "it's about time."
Consider the new hospital records system, for example. The Bush Administration had 8 years to clean up this big mess but didn't get anything done. Under Obama, a new system is already underway. And, of course, he has done wonderful work starting to repair the sullied image of the United States around the world. It's a lot better to have good international relations than to taunt other nations and threaten wars.
I wandered around at this year's St. Louis Earth Day celebration with a camcorder to capture some of the many images and sounds. I boiled my raw video down into two short videos, each of them lasting about five minutes.
The first one is the "fun" video--you'll see what I mean. I'm assuming that some of the scenes at Forest Park will give you a smile or leave you shaking your head. Free hugs, anyone? Or how about some sound therapy? And do consider the computerized body analysis administered to me by a chiropractic group working really (really) hard to sell me their long-term services. BTW, I took their test assuming that any legit test would pick up on a rather serious condition I'm dealing with--half of my left hand has gone numb and my left arm is at 1/2 strength due to a pinched nerve; it's so bad that I'm almost certain to have neck surgery in a few weeks. But the elaborate computerized scan didn't pick up on that major issue. I did learn that my gall bladder is in great shape, however.
Editing down these videos, I was surprised at how much music one can hear at the festival. Musician Leslie Sanazaro, who has often promoted "green" issues, is featured at the end of this first video (a few months ago, I produced a three-part interview with Leslie). Enjoy!
Now for the "serious" interview. Among all the people attending the fair were a few contractors who sell products and services that can really make a dent in the amount of energy used by your home. The first half of this short video features a firm (Home Green Home) that does elaborate energy audits for about $400. According to Marc Bluestone, up-front cost would be a bargain based on the amount of energy you can save (more than 20% of your energy bills). The second firm, Missouri Solar Living, installs solar equipment for water heating and electricity. You'll hear some compelling facts and figures, especially about solar hot water. Note: I don't know any more about these two firms than you'll see on this videotape, but I did enjoy meeting these guys at Earth Day and I appreciated hearing energy-saving information from two companies who are actually doing substantial work out in the field.
Swine flu has captured the attention of the nation, including calls from European health officials to restrict travel to the US.
It's all rather overblown, because almost everyone* has the ability to avoid the flu and it's symptoms. Just follow the directions in the video, courtesy of Bill Nye, the Science Guy!
* the exception is immune-compromised individuals.
We just can't stop ourselves. Further, our advocacy of the "free market" is our way of announcing that we do not intend to act responsibly. What's the latest chapter in human ecological incontinence? The destruction of bluefin tuna.
Overfishing will wipe out the breeding population of Atlantic bluefin tuna, one of the ocean's largest and fastest predators, in three years unless catches are dramatically reduced, conservation group WWF said on Tuesday.
We've already wiped out Atlantic cod, so why not? That must be the mentality.
None of us like bee stings, but we all like the produce that bees help to sustain, not least the honey that comes from the bees themselves. Bees are an extremely important part of our agricultural eco-system, especially for sustainable and organic farmers. I was therefore very interested to read in Ars Technica's science blog about a possible cure for colony collapse disorder.
Apiarists were extremely worried when they noticed the sudden and dramatic decline of otherwise healthy aviaries in recent years. Many suggestions were made as to root cause, including cell phone use. It now appears that a cure is on the horizon.
Spanish researchers, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Microbiology Reports, investigated colony collapse in many Spanish aviaries. They isolated a parasitic fungus, which they discovered to be the root cause of the colony collapse. Treating other diseased colonies with an anti-fungal agent enabled the colonies to recover completely.
I'm looking forwards to a bee-utiful summer!
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