Green Elements

Amazing pH Balance Earth and People

Balance is something we strive for in our life.  We see it in how we try to manage work and our 

personal life; balance between consumption and preserving the environment; balancing disruptions and getting tasks done; and in our personal health versus stress.  The list is extensive.  By and large balance is a very difficult goal to achieve; this assertion could be made anywhere in the world.

So here is something to consider about balance you may not have thought of; 1) the most important balance in our body is pH balance; while that may sound simple, achieving it is like trying to balance yourself on a tightrope (ok perhaps not that difficult but it might seem that way) but certainly as challenging to achieve balance in other areas of our life; 2) alkaline and acids make up these two very important chemical that represent this balance, which also influence many other activities that occur in our body.

A bit more understanding migh make you more conscious about your eating decisions and thereby resulting in a happier healthier you.

 So why is this make up so important?  Let's not   focus on things like kidney, liver and blood disease, to avoid talking about thsi from a medical perspective- though they are legitimately related to the matter at hand.  Rather I would like to share important factors to understand which will make the importance of acids and alkaline a little easier to digest.

 Most foods (especially processed foods) have high levels of sugar or high fructose.  The result is that most of our diet is made up of sugary acids that means that we have a alkaline deficit much more often than not in our body, across the majority of our U.S. population.  Alkaline foods mean more green foods and raw veggies (which don't appeal to most peoples taste buds the way sugary sweets do).  It's time to change that.

Keep this in mind increasing your alkaline intake will result in more energy, healthier bone structure and a wide range of health benefits including lower blood sugar levels, less chances of heart disease and the other major threats to human health.  For children it can mean improved neurological performance.

Understanding the Scale

The pH scale reflect whether the pH in your body is acidic or alkaline.  The scale ranges from 1 to 14.  A pH of 7 is considered neutral; above 7 is considered alkaline below 7 is considered acidic.  Seven then is the ideal balance for humans.  Because we have a diet that is so heavily influenced by sugars, achieving the balance (i.e., consuming more raw or alkaline foods) is a real challenge.

Less important to understand but good to know is this:  a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than a pH of 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline—another way to say basic—than the next lower whole value. For example, a pH of 10 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 9 (epa).  Sounds impressive but the simlicity if each level of increase refelcts an acidic increase of ten times that.  The same would be true for alkaline, except most people don't have alkaline saturated diets. 

People and Plant Benefits

And here is something else you probably did not know; your plants require a similar pH balance to that of humans. Depending on what region of the world your food is from will also influence whether that food requires more alkaline or acid in its uptake.  Beets for example do best in a alkaline environment(pH) around 7-8; while grass  are slightly acidic or close to neutral between 6.5 to 7.  Basically plant life also thrives in close to this balance of 7.  

All of this makes sense if you consider a couple of different points: 1) we consume a lot of plant life (or we should)  so we should attempt to maintain a similar balance 2) we are evolved from single cellular organism that thrived on plant life (if you subscribe to the scientific theory) as such, our biological system  should have similar requirements.

 Maintaining a better pH balance means a better quality of life.  Eating more alkaline and raw vegetables, fewer sugary and processed foods (which includes milk) will reduce the negative affects of an acidic body.  

If you are a gardner, seek to balance your soil as well (there are devices to monitor this).  I use to have a 100 gallon ( 378 liters)  salt water aquarium at one point; maintaining the pH balance was critical to the fish survival, so it is no surprise the level of importance pH has on the body for me.

From healthy bones to healthy blood, pH affects everything about you and your bodily function.

Please work harder to stay healthy by balancing what you eat and likely adding more alkaline type food to your diet, while consuming less sugary and processed foods.

Alkaline foods: flax seed or oil, brown rice, millet, soaked almonds, tomato slices, fresh avocado, natural vegetable soups or pressed vegetable juices (not canned likely to have sugar) and beets. For a comprehensive list email me

 

Water Notes

Water falls from the sky in a rhythmic way sometimes and changes our outlook on the day.  In Antigua, Guatemala, I use to dance on the roof while the warm heavy rains of the monsoon would pelt my body and my imagination would drift into a space that is rich with energy and wholesomeness.

Such an experience can,  by and large, depend on what part of the world we live in.  In California an 1/8 of an inch of rain can ruin a grape crop for raisins, the slightest difference can wipe out an entire years worth of work; on the other hand, in Africa more than 230 million people will suffer from water scarcity this year.  And in Miami, Florida, they probably have what some would describe as the perfect weather much of the time.  We experience water and access to it, differently.

 From whichever our challenge or pleasure may be derived, it is likely that those who have an abundance of water don't truly appreciate intricate details such as the cycle of water and what it goes through to make it's way to our faucets. 

A friend of my came to the U.S. from India for academic purposes.  On one of our tours of the city, he was amazed at the water in the Charles River. "Is that fresh water?" "Yes" I responded.  "And is it always there; is it always available at that level?" he asked.  Again I replied, "yes it is".  He continued, "And where will it all go?".  "It empties into the Atlantic Ocean" I said.  "And you just let it go there, all of that water?"  "Well-- yes" I replied.  "This is amazing!"

Our conversation carried on much longer as the tour continued.  But the proufoundness of Aakesh's observations and curiousity etched itself into my mind.  As a conservationist, I recognize the important role water plays in our society, I hold very strong views about the matter.  From rain barrels to controlling the flow rate on my sink-- even turning off the water for each dish I rince.  Nonetheless, I've developed an appreciation for what water means to Aakesh and where he is from in Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh in India, one of their water starved regions.

I Aakesh recently returned for another visit; upon greeting him at the airport, his first question was, "Is all that water still in the Charles River?"  "Yes my friend, it is still there".

I don't believe I take what is available for granted, however I also know that when I turn my faucet on, water will flow.   My appreciation and commitment to helping others understand the precious value of that has grown out of our conversation.

 

Unprescription Part II

You went skinny dipping!-?

Two days after my unprescription (Part I) to my friend and what a difference; not only that evening but in all the following days up to today and counting.  she said "...it feels good to be alive"

So of the list of 10 things she made wrote down for me, she managed to accomplish three of the things that made her happy in one day.  Wow!  And what a difference.

She exudes happiness in her spirit, her presence, her actions, and conversation.  I cannot believe it is the same person.  Her skin looks healthier, her stomach aches are gone, she moves about in a more spirited way that mirrors the new breath her attitude is breathing into our conversations. 

She continues to thank me but I told her "...you did the work...; you could have decicde not to follow my unprescription".  She said to me that she could not believe her doctor never asked her the simple questions about happiness.

Prior to asking her to drop her meds for a day I asked if she has any preexisting conditions that required her to be on medication; her response was no.  What shot up on my radar was that here I have a seemingly perfectly healthy human being and she is taking meds, that seem to strip the life out of her.  

Granted that this unprescription may not be the answer for everyone, but the fact that it made a difference in someones life, made it all worth while to me- that to me is what the human experience is all about.

What she accomplished in that day:

1) met with friends she hadn't seen in over a year.  Her apprehension was that they would not want to be with her.  BUT!  They were over joyed to see her which prompted #2

2) going skinny dipping.  She never in her life though she would go skinny dipping but she took the plunge in Massachusetts and it is only early Spring (yikes!  I don't know if I would have had the courage to accomplish that- no I know I would not have.  Unless I have really good friends and felt really good about myself- so yea, it's doable).

3) She went out to eat, and had a great time catching up with old friends.

4) Spent peasant time talking to her family

I was pleasantly surprised by all she accomplished in one day.  The thing is that I knew that she was a great person; she just needed the right key to open the door that a system of meds had shut down because no one was trying to reach her, or at least had not considered nontraditional approaches.

Sitting in Barnes & Noble book store the other day, I observed a man who was borrowing a read; he sat down and ten minutes into the book, he burst out in a laughter.  It was an infectious laugh, forcing me to chuckle myself; the odd thing was another man near by appeared to be rather perturbed by the mans enjoyment from reading his borrowed book. Having just finished the previous article to this, I though it was especially humerous which provided me with an additional chuckle.   Some people were born happy, and that is probably how they will die- with a feeling of fulfillment, happiness can do that. 

People, being happy is not that difficult, at a bare minimum find some happiness.  Wealth is not a prerequiset to being happy.  There are plenty of wealthy people who are unhappy.  Additionally, the solution to multiple complex problems is usually one simple solution- we just have to put on a different set of lenses to see it.

Lastly if  you know someone who is unhappy, find out 10 things that make them happy and give them the responsibility to go and do one of them; then check in with them and share an experience with them yourself.

Sincerely,

Dr. Happiness 

 

My unprescription for happiness

by Scotland Willis

I was speaking with a good friend this morning who is visiting with me from out of town; she has been prescribed lots of drugs- eight to my knowledge.  These drugs ranged from antidepressants (prescribed as a method to help them sleep) to pain pills.

Thoroughly concerned about the use of prescription medicine as a solution with no end; I shifted into my life coach mode and asked her to do me a favor.  I simply requested that she take a moment to go up stairs and write a list of ten things that make her happy.

What we should all know

  While she was doing this I decided to do some research about the various drugs- most of  it was not positive.  The risks associated with taking the prescribed drugs ranged from suicide to further depression- be more depressed... so I can sleep?  That didn't wash with me, so I furthered my research, all the time knowing and informing her that I am no doctor and am not offering medical advice.  I went a step further.

 With only novice experience in heal risk affects, I started to research the NIH (National Institute of Health) and the IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) to increase my understanding of what I was looking at- more bad news.  Both offer valuable insights to toxicity and responses to various toxicants.

 As it turns out, and is sometimes the case, I discovered that what had been prescribed was the very same thing I was requesting of my friend; find happiness- but the drugs were limited in understanding human nature.

  The drugs force the release of additional serotonin ( a contributor to a sense of well being sometimes called the happiness hormone (though it is not actually a hormone).  Excesses of serotonin like any toxic affect, can have a negative outcome.   To no surprise she complained about discomfort in her gut (where 80% of serotonin is produced).  An excess dose of serotonin could potentially result in this response.

  Putting it all together

After about an hour, she came to me with her list.  Next, I went through the list of ten things she wrote down for me, that make her happy or that she likes to do.  I read them with great care.  Then I went through each one and asked her, "when was the last time you went to the museum?" followed by; "when was the last time you went to a movie"... followed by; "when was the last time you..." until we went through the entire list.

 As it turned out she had not participated in any of the things she enjoyed in less than the last six months!

 I absolutely could not believe this; I could not believe what I was hearing.  Now I have plenty of stress in my life; but I do not allow a day to go by without doing at least one thing, that makes me happy.  If ever I have, I know that I would not feel good about myself, vis a vis, I would not be happy i.e.,  I would not have the natural dose of serotonin already in my body, that I needed.

So I proceeded to give my nonprescription, "My friend, I said, "I want you to go out and do at least two of the things that make you happy today.  Take your journal and write about how they make you feel and pay attention to what is occurring for you as you make your observations."

A real difference

Immediately, as I was looking at her beautiful self, it was as if a huge burden had been lifted from her.  A smile came across her face that was glowing in a way I had not seen since she arrived.  To me that indicated that the dopamine ( a biological reaction that occurs when you are craving something) was being released at the mere idea of taking time to do some of the things that make her happy.  My belief is that she will get the sense of well being from the interaction between what she stated makes her happy and making a conscious decision to partake in such activity.

And that is it friends, don't allow life to pass you by because you forgot to do something that makes you feel good (the serotonin) every day.

You might  start by going off somewhere right now and making that list of the ten things that make you happy.  If the natural dopamine in your is being released, you are probably experiencing a smile or your salivary glands acting up at the idea that you are going to reward yourself by treating your happiness hormones to doing something nice for someone else, or nice to yourself.

 Don't worry be happy, because there are some things that you just cannot change- accept that and find a alternate happy path.  For the other things, that you can change, as long as they don't make someone else unhappy, go and do them.  Join a new group, pick up an instrument, go for a walk, a bike ride, show someone you care, get an ice cream cone, breathe fresh air, write in your journal, garden, etc. Do a physical or mental activity that nourishes you and can make you begin to feel whole again.

 We forget things all the time as humans, just don't forget to be happy

 

 

Gardening with Green Elements

YouTube video Gardening with Green Elements

Preparing and planning your garden benefits the enveironment, your finances and your health.  Enjoy the video.

 

   

Radiation reference Wikipedia

This is just a brief reference to information about radiation that has several very reliable links which will help you look at the network to resources for the information they collected.   

Wikipedia is a great resource in the peer-to-peer world that cooperatively helps people understand more about the world and events shaping the world in terms of gaining additional insights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_poisoning

Helpful videos Japan air flow

These two videos and other like them will help people understant a littel more about the potential outcome of the nuclear activity in Japan as well as context.  

In the first video they put in laymans terms earth temperatures air flow patters.  I like that they look at Asia and not just the US.

Aribic: أنماط الرياح

French: La configuration des vents

Spanish:Patrones de viento

Catalan: Patrons de vent

 

 

 

  

 

 

Spring, cooking and preserving the environment

 

Nuclear reactor Explosion and Simulation

 

The 12th dawned and the aftermath of the earthquake in the East became   increasingly clear; evidence of the devastation of the tsunami, in Fukushima  leakage of radioactive material from the nuclear power emerged.  The subsequent explosion was the result of vapor pressure according to news sources.

Extent of the damage is not known, but if in fact a radio active leak is evident, ensuring residents have access to iodine pills to insulate themselves from the threat of thyroid cancer is imperative.  

The plant experienced a vaporous explosion on  theday of the 12th of March 2011. We are saddened for people and the consequences to the natural environment of which we are both a part of.  At this time there is no indication of any nuclear explosion

Simulation

 

 

Psychological Filters of Climate Change

by Scotland Willis 

Whether you are a believer in climate change or not, the intensity of your belief passes through many filters.  This is one of the many things preventing the kind of progress which advocates for climate change would like to see.  

Opponents, on the other hand, lack research infrastructure, attempting to manipulate and falsely extrapolate intensely researched data from climate experts- not advocates.

Researchers from Yale University published a book titled Global Warming's Six Americas.  They examine varying degrees of individual's perception on climate change.  More extreme views for immediate action(which might include shutting down all coal fired power plants,) make up a small percentage of environmental activists.  You could easily put Jim Hansen in this category.  Though a renowned scientist, he is becoming increasingly recognized as an aggressively staunch environmentalist, rather than scientist.  But like many people, Hansen has likely become frustrated with the tree sap pace implementation of legislative, social, and industrial (policies, lifestyle and operations) respectively, and the commitment to reversing human induced climate change.

Opponents of climate change concern's have a line to tow, depending on the degree of opposition.  Even starlet opponents such as Bjorn Lomborg, who lead a study sponsored by Copenhagen Consensus funded by the IMF, to address what the most pressing issues are facing humanity and how to prioritize them; Lomborg noted the environment is not a priority in his comments.  Claims by legitimate scientist counter Lomborg's opinions as fabricated and deliberately distorted.  Lomborg lacks fundamental insights to science and is not qualified to contest the evidence put forth by most climatologist; and as the evidence mounts his opposition continues to wilt. 

Because human activity on the Earth is also directly related to conflict on the Earth(environmental, social, economic and otherwise) setting priorities will grow increasingly difficult- but making the right choices is paramount.  In a recent discussion with a friend who had come up with a model for saving polar bears that are dying because of melting ice caps; he asked for my opinion.  I was forced to ask him a series of provocative questions challenging the invention, for which he was not prepared to receive.  As it turned out he neglected to consider a number of ecological unintended consequences.  Opponents often don't support their arguments with hard data because of such oversights.

Heavily disputed IPCC's work happens to have 831 scientists and researchers in the fifth climate report they will generate.  For whatever data they omit from their report, we still have to recognize the strength of the caliber of talent this body is made up of.  If the strongest argument for opponents of climate change is  that data was left out; which it was, there arguments will continue to fall apart.  It is important to understand that government leaders specifically asked that IPCC research include significant data that might present insight to the most challenging environmental issues.  That would imply that some pressing matters may not take priority over others- report back to us on those matters.  Also universities, and other governing authorities as well as the National Academy of Sciences verified that the work was not compromised in terms of ethics or procedure and is in fact valid.

Ultimately individual people will have to amass enough knowledge to influence government to set environmental policies.  Knowledge helps to persuade government of a matters significance.  And because of the force of lobbyist against climate change policies, consumers must be able to consistently present formidable arguments capable of becoming mainstream thinking- but that requires a change.

Our perception of the cost of goods is skewed in the United States, resulting from a long standing feeling of entitlement.  Cheap fuel, merchandise and taxes all make the United States very appealing but we have a lot to learn about the impact of our amenities.  When we learn to adapt to a higher cost of living for the resources we use we will become a nation of advocates and revolution will be a mantra that is not as painful as it is in its current form.

Thomas Friedman author of Flat Hot and Crowded suggests that we are not even on the cusp of an environmental revolution; in a real revolution there are winners and losers.  That means no cheer leaders, society is much more sophisticated than that.  An environmental revolution will set policies that say either you get on board or get in the water and hope for the best.  There is no compromise . The environment is not going to wait and give us a few more years until we get our house in order.  Friedman was right when he said, the dot com revolution created leaders and those who got left behind- you got it or you didn't.  We need an environmental vision that powerful.

There are very specific reasons we are going to experience what I call Climate Strange, because the climate will always change; but the strange occurrences will increase in frequency.  This is a broader topic I will address in the near future.

Each of us needs to get out of our comfort zone and do something to advance a reversal of our carbon footprint.  There an abundance of evidence and numerous experts indicating the urgency of climate change.  If we fail to acknowledge as a nation the matter before us in the environment; and if we don't make it a national priority(which means creating jobs, investing in research and development and positioning the United States to be a leader in the industry of environmental products and innovation)  we will no longer be identified as a leading nation among our global counter parts. 

Scotland Willis is an environmental strategist, lecturer and advocate.  He is currently a dual Masters candidate at Tufts in Environmental Engineering and Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning.  He does management consulting in systems and large scale change and is a columnist/ photographer for environmental issues.